


How It All Went Wrong

by Witch_of_History



Series: Down the Rabbit Hole [2]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Descendants: Wicked World - Fandom, The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Beast isn't the best dad, F/F, F/M, Genderfluid Character, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Minor Swearing, Multi, Polyamory, belle is trying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-24 19:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 15
Words: 26,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22023121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Witch_of_History/pseuds/Witch_of_History
Summary: There is a decree by a young king to bring over the children of the four most terrifying villains on the Isle, the ones that Yen Sid himself informed Ben would change the world if he helped them, and they have agreed to come. Is it really ever that simple though? No, “everything that can go wrong will go wrong”. This is the real world and the real world screws everyone over without question, hesitation, or remorse.
Series: Down the Rabbit Hole [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1580758
Comments: 29
Kudos: 137
Collections: Canon Divergent AUs





	1. Broken Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal had spent her time learning, watching from the shadows. Her mother was broken and her father was in ruins, so she couldn't let herself fall as far as they had. So she watches and she learns that there is strength in having people, that a crew protects you and defends you. Mal watches, learns, and decides that she can't fall apart if she has enough people holding her together.

Mal grew up knowing that there was something wrong with her mother, not just in that she was kind when most people on the Isle were not, but that she was truly broken. From the moment she was born until she was six years old, Maleficent did not raise her. Instead, Grimilde would visit with her own daughter and would make sure that she was fed, clothed, and clean. She taught her about magic and whispered stories of the moors that Mal’s mother only talked about when she believed she was still there. The longer they were on the Isle, the less intense Maleficent’s mood swings were. Mostly because her magic adapted and so did her mind. But around Mal’s birthday, something went wrong. There was a slight that Grimilde had done that was enough to get Maleficent to banish her to the other side of the isle, a spark of magic even moving the Castle Across the Way there as well. 

“But Evie is apart of my crew, mother!” Even at six, Mal understood that you didn’t call people your friends unless you wanted to lose them. “She’s too far away now for me to boss her around, how am I supposed to learn to rule?” 

In a moment of partial clarity, Maleficent led Mal over to a chair and sat her down. “Humans, even ones that have magic like that  _ witch _ , are not to be trusted. I have trusted exactly two humans in my life. One brought me only pain, hurting me in a way no other fae should ever be forced to feel...he used iron to burn off my wings when I was just a few years older than you. I killed him for it, but not before he had a daughter and refused to invite me to her christening,” she snarled. “Not that I would have gone, but it was a slight not unlike what Grimilde did to earn her banishment.” Mal stared at her mother in surprise, never having been told the truth about what happened before. There were whispers of course, but this was fact. “I cursed the girl, allowing for one way to save her. True love’s kiss, what her father had told me he had given me right before he stole my wings.” 

Mal grinned at that. Fae could only punish as much as they were hurt, but they were tricky and her mother used to rule them. “True love doesn’t exist, so you trapped her for eternity.” She expected her mother to be proud of her, but she only snapped. 

“No, true love is real. It is not between two people, but when you yourself love them wholely. It is dangerous, foolish, and will only hurt you in the end, do you understand me?” Maleficent raised an eyebrow, only relaxing when Mal nodded and shrunk back into her chair. She then continued on with the story as if nothing had happened. “The girl was the other human I trusted, I watched her grow and made sure those idiot faeries didn’t kill her in their negligence. At first it was so my revenge could be enacted, but slowly I could start to see how different she was from her father. So when the curse came to be, I was the one to wake her.” 

“You loved her,” Mal whispered and hoped her mother couldn’t hear the pain in her voice. She had grown up knowing that she should stay away from her, that it was dangerous and that she would get hurt. The few times she ignored that rule, she found herself scratched up at best and with broken bones at worst. 

Maleficent only hummed. “And yet I am here, with Aurora either knowing of my suffering and unwilling or unable to do anything about it. Loving her got me nothing but pain, and my wings taken away  _ again _ ! I voluntarily came to this forsaken Isle to protect the moors, yet they still punished me the second I stepped foot onto its land. They didn’t want me changing my mind and flying up into the sky, where the barrier is weakest.” Something cleared in her face for a moment, as she smiled down at Mal. “When you get your wings and your horns, you will fly up there for me and return my wings, little dragon. You’ll earn your full name,  _ my _ name, in doing so.” 

Mal didn’t think she wanted her mother’s name if it brought only pain, but she nodded her head and responded, “yes mother,” anyway. 

* * *

For the first few months after the banishment, Mal stayed in line and didn’t try to find Evie. But once her mother relaxed in her grip, she was gone out the window at night and over the rooftops, searching for the second highest peak on the Isle. The night she found it, she could hardly contain her joy as she scrambled over to the balcony that lead into Evie’s room. She knocked slowly and softly as to not wake anyone else, surprised to find an angry face when the door unlocked. “You look grouchy, I thought you’d miss me.” 

“Miss you?” Evie laughed harshly and her smile was nothing less than poisonous. “Your mother banished us after everything and you didn’t do anything to stop her. Where have you been, I wanted for you, I thought you’d come find me…” She started crying suddenly, unable to contain herself. It would only be a few more months before she learned how to prevent herself from ever crying again. 

Mal opened her arms and hugged her, even as the other girl fought back limply. “We’re six, not sixteen. I couldn’t stop her and you know it too. I tried to find you a few times, but mother’s goons found me out and I had come up with something. I told her I was replacing you, which is never going to happen,” she added quickly when Evie paled, “but I did find a new ally. Her name is Uma, she’s like us and her mom is Ursula. She has magic and it’ll be helpful when we runaway!” The girls had been planning their escape ever since they could talk, but it wasn’t from their family. It was from the Isle itself. They wanted so badly to be safe and warm like in Auradon, and when they had seen the announcement of the Prince’s sixth birthday, Evie had said he looked nice and might help them. Mal had agreed and decided that if they found Ben, he would take them to Belle and she would adopt them. Then they could bring over all the other kids too. They had no plan for actually getting  _ out, _ or how to cross the water, but Grimilhide had approved when they told her. 

“You really didn’t abandon me?” Evie whispered, her tears wiped away by tiny fists. When Mal shook her head, they embraced again and resolidified their bond. Mal knew the power of a fae promise, but she still told Evie that she would never abandon her as long as she drew breath. 

So on the nights her mother’s snores made their way into Mal’s room, she snuck out to visit Evie and fulfill her promise. Eventually, more like a few visits in, Grimilde found them out and declared that Mal would use the front door if no one was around. It was because of this rule that a few months later, she notices something. She had stopped running on the rooftops once she reached the neutral territory, feeling stronger as a seven year old then she had felt at six, and was finally starting to get curious about the surroundings of where Evie lived. The only thing of real interest was the old mine. 

It was said that a  _ god _ lived there, one who controlled the dead and had taken over Olympus before being bested by a rival. Most of the time, as much as she wanted to explore, Mal stayed away from it. There was dark magic swirling around the door and she wasn’t stupid. Yet when her eye caught on the lock, the realization that the god was locked  _ in _ was too much for her to pass up. The second she touched it, she recognized her mother’s signature like a hand on her wrist pulling her away. Her mom had imprisoned a god. Why? 

The only person she could trust to answer that was Hadie, born Hadrian and still sometimes identified that way. She could control the length of her hair to let people know how she identified, long meant female, spiked meant male, and a buzz cut on any part of their head meant they were something different. Today, she was Hadie. “What are you looking for, kiddo? You know you’re not supposed to stray so far this way.” It wasn’t a threat, simply a fact. 

Hadie might have been four years older than Mal and easily could take her down if she wanted to, but being the child of two gods who loved her both gave her indifference and protection. “I noticed something and I knew that if you didn’t know the answer you could get it.” For some reason she never asked Mal to pay for knowledge until after she found out what she wanted. If Hadie had to work for it, so did Mal. But if she already had it, she would give it freely and recite a release of debt so Mal wasn’t magically required to fulfill it. “My mother is the one who locked your father away, I recognized her touch. It must have been when they were still imprisoning people,” Hadie nodded her confirmation, “so why did she do it?” 

The fact that Hadie stepped back made every part of Mal’s body tense. It must have either been something on Hades part or one of her mother’s episodes, something that hadn’t happened since Evie and Grimilhide’s banishment last year. “It was two years before you were born, they were rounding up the minions and creatures, before they tried to cut us off completely from magic, so the barrier wasn’t as strong.” Hadie’s hair sparked slightly as a fire raged in her eyes. “Your mother arrived around that time and lost it when her wings were taken away, which was fair, but then she started taking it out on people. She scares the shit out of almost everyone on the isle, and that first week of her arrival is why.” 

“And Hades?” Mal asked hesitantly, still unsure if she wanted to know the answer. “He’s not afraid of my mother, he’s a god…” She paled, realization hitting her. “Did she hurt you, and he retaliated?” 

Hadie’s laugh was as dark as her fingernails. “Something like that, she stole me so I would become her child. She needed someone to blame and I was one of the few children around. None of the others were known to her and so I was the price. To get me back, he had to promise her what she wanted.” Mal choked as she realized what the implications of that were. “He helped me escape, but he didn’t. On this Isle with our powers dampened by Zeus so my father won’t back out on his deal, Maleficent was able to trick him into thinking she was my mom. And so,” Hadie whispered, “you were born. She didn’t want him stealing you in revenge, so she locked him away.” 

Mal barely registered the release of her debt that Hadie gave, running away as soon as it was done. Her mother had tricked Hades into giving her a child,  _ forced _ him into it. No one stopped that sort of thing, not unless the person was under their protection. But it was well known that retaliation was justified, by the victim or their family. And Hadie, Hadie had every right to kill her for what her mother had done. 

* * *

It was a few years before Mal would see Hadrian again, the same day that she both lost and gained a friend. She was on a heist with Uma, running down a lead that Jafar still had the ruby eyes from his serpent staff. “Come on, Uma, we have to move or he’s going to find us,” Mal whispered as panic started climbing up her throat. Uma was part octopus and when she got nervous, her fingers grew suckers and would stick to anything she touched until she calmed down enough to get rid of them. 

“I’m trying, this is harder than it looks. When you all of a sudden grow a tail, I’ll remember to only just stand there and make fun of you.” Uma growled lowly as only she could, before finally getting her hands free. She snagged the other ruby, grinding at Mal. 

There was a thud as a door slammed above their heads, sending both girls scrambling out the door and into the streets giggling with the rush of getting away with it. They barely made it towards the end of the street when the shop opened, so Mal dove into an alley with Uma right behind her. “We did it,” she whispered. 

Uma shushed her. They waited there for what felt like forever, jumping a foot in the air when someone turned down their alley. “If you’re going to steal someone’s jewels, at least make sure you don’t leave marks behind.” Hadrian had grown immensely, at least six foot with broad shoulders and wide hips. He wasn’t a scrawny kid anymore. “He knows it was someone with suckers and that leaves you,” he turned his gaze to focus on Uma. 

“Uma, give me the jewels. I can show them to her and she can scare Jafar into not hurting you or your family, I’ll give you yours once things have settled down.” The panic was back again, both because of the fact that they had been caught and because she was hoping to never see her half-brother again. 

Hadrian snarled. “I don’t think so. You might get a pass, but the sea slug has to pay up.” There was something almost protective in the way he said it, like he was angry at Uma for endangering Mal. “I don’t care what you do with the other one, fight over it for all I care.” 

There was a quick exchange of hands before Hadrian walked away, appearing completely innocent to any passerby. “I hate that guy, he’s always on my ass about my mom because she’s a sea witch. Its like he thinks he’s better than me just because his daddy is a god.” Mal didn’t understand at the time, but she felt a sudden urge to defend him. 

“Well you do have to admit,” Mal teased, “you are a bit Shrimpy.” She grinned even as Uma punched her. “I’m just messing with you, I’ll get home with the gem so mom will protect you and your ma.” She didn’t check her pockets even as she ran, eager to get home to show her mother what she had done. Maybe if she had checked her pockets, maybe if her mother wasn’t finally taking control and trying to rule the Isle, things would have ended up differently. But as it was, her mother was angry with Ursula over territory and when Mal tried to present the gem to her and she realized Uma had lifted it, it was the last straw. They were going to war. To appease Jafar, Mal was forced to work with his son, Jay, until she had paid him off.  



	2. Island Royalty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evie on the outside is the abused daughter of the Evil Queen, forced to starve herself for beauty and put her looks above everything else. But Evie on the inside is a genius who knows the power in beauty and knowledge, prepared to one day be able to destroy entire kingdoms with words and the perfect smile. She holds her cards close to her chest, and sometimes even up her sleeve. There are exactly four people in the world that she would reveal them to, but that number seems to be growing.

Evie grew up knowing that she was a princess thrice over. First, she was the Crown Princess of her mother’s kingdom, Fairaway, which was currently being run by appointed dignitaries. Second, by her father, who had become human like on the isle and was the true ruler of Annuvin. His fling with her mother was only to produce an heir for both of them, which was why she spent half of her time with her mother and the other half with her father. 

She couldn’t decide which she hated more. With her mother, she was forced to sit for hours in royalty lessons. How to curtsey perfectly, (“back straight, head up, bent front knee and your back leg behind you dear”), how to wear a tiara even though she won’t get one for either of her parents kingdoms until she marries, (“the  _ traditional _ way to do it is on the front of your head, all of these modern royalty wearing it at an angle”), and so many other small details that she would be scrutinized for if she ever made it to Auradon. Then with her father, she would be handed book after book to learn from as he informed her, “ _ knowledge _ is the power your enemy knows not” over and over again. There were some that she found interesting and would read twice if her father didn’t catch her first, and there were others that she would rush through just to be done with them. He taught her how to make poisons that would turn her enemies insides to fire, reminding her that she should never make anything to kill that she can’t reverse. Both of them taught her that she should always keep her emotions under lock and key until they’re needed. 

The only people she ever felt she could be completely honest and open with were the other members of Mal’s gang. Jay was the first guy she ever met who didn’t give her a second glance, who never made her feel like she was a piece of art being presented instead of a real person. At first it annoyed her, but she grew used to it after a while. 

“Evie, can you braid my hair back?” Jay asked her off-handedly, walking into their new found hideout as if it was his own place. “It keeps getting damaged in fights.” When he finally came into full view, she could see the tangles from where someone had grabbed at it and the blood dripping into his fingers. 

She sighed dramatically, allowing herself to tease him a little. “If only I could, but I’m quite busy what with all of my suitors, they might think you were going to steal me away!” They were twelve and Evie had absolutely no suitors yet, though when her chest started growing there were far too many eyes on her in the streets for anyone’s liking. She grinned as he pouted and patted the floor in front of her, reaching around to grab one of the potions she had come up with herself. Her father had actually been impressed and congratulated her on her creativity. “This is made with some old lotion that Mal found for me, it had separated so I was able to extract the oils that I needed. I added in some honey and an avocado I got from Anthony for spending an hour with him.” 

Jay froze before she could start on her hair, turning around to look at her with a blank expression. “What exactly did you do during that hour that he was willing to hand over something like that?” Exotic fruits were hard to come by on the isle, things like mangoes, avocados, peppers that weren’t meant to be green. 

“It was just kissing,” Evie assured him. “He felt me up over my clothes a little, but he asked first and was really sweet about it. He might be a horny jerk who asks every girl if he can have a feel, but he doesn’t push if you say no or aren’t okay with it. That’s how he stays in a lot of people’s good books.” Jay finally turned around, so she started massaging the potion into his hair to detangle it and make it grow stronger. “You know Ginny Gothel was going to trade him a blow job for some bread, but she looked so uncomfortable when she asked that he told her a make out would be just fine. He only gave her half the loaf, because he’s not stupid, but he didn’t let her do it. Says it’s no fun when the other person doesn’t want to.”

As she worked her way up into his roots, Jay hummed his pleasure. “Good, I always thought Anthony was decent and now I don’t have to kill him for hurting you. I would have let you do it yourself, but my way would be quick and yours would have to be long and painful so Dizzy wouldn’t find out.” 

That surprised Evie. “You think I could kill someone?” Of course she could, her mother had taught her how to hide weapons under her skirts using garters and her father had showed her how to control their increased strength so her enemies wouldn;t know until it was too late. But for some to actually recognize that in her, a guy no less, in a world where Evie’s body was the only thing she needed to use for protection, was shocking. 

Jay laughed from his spot at her feet and she told him to stop moving. When he settled down, he answered her like it was obvious. “Of course you _could_ kill someone, or at the very least make something to kill someone to earn a profit. I know you have the ability too. At the same time though,” his voice softened as he spoke, “I don’t think you would.” 

Evie’s hands froze in his hair and she tried to cover it up by trying to find something to tie it with when she had finished. He was right. Unless someone had hurt those she cared about badly enough, she would never do the act herself. It just wasn’t in her to do that to someone unless it was a do-or-die situation and she didn’t have time to think. “Maybe, but I’ll never have to think about it as long as I have you and Mal watching my back. My big brutes, saving me from the _savages_ ,” she joked. 

“Always, your highness.” Jay leaned back into her legs, relaxing in a way that showed his complete trust in her. Evie might never get a chance to be recognized as the air to her parents’ kingdoms with a knight in shining armor, but she was happy to settle for being a princess of the Isle with two brutes and an evil genius guarding her back.


	3. Storytelling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos De Vil was always one to ask questions. Why was his mother the way she was? What had happened to create the Isle? What happens if he mixes these wires together and puts it in a box together with some old memory chips that he restored? What happens if he asks the most powerful child on the isle to trade with him?

Carlos De Vil had been almost solely raised by his cousins. Diego was only three years older than him, but Noemí was thirteen and technically not an Isle kid as she was raised on the mainland. She actually  _ remembered _ being brought over to the Isle with her father and how all of them had been brought together in the first place. She told him the story when he was four and Cruella was out of it enough to have forgotten he existed. Those were the good days, and maybe even weeks, where he got to live in the one room apartment that Noemí rented from Gaston in the Huntsman Territory. 

“Hermomo, get your butt away from that window! I’m not putting you back together if you fall out onto the streets, and I won’t have you crying and getting us kicked out.” Where Diego had the two-toned hair that all De Vils had, Noemí dyed her white hair different colors to cover up who she was and refused to wear their colors. Even though she was harsh at times, she kept them alive. The window that Diego was playing with was sealed shut to prevent uninvited guests, but only on the outside. If anyone shoved too hard, it would smash on the street. 

Diego didn’t seem to care too much about that, but he moved over to where the one bed was and climbed under the blankets to listen to the story. “Is this the one about the war and the reason that dad and Cruella got us stuck on this shit hole?” 

Noemí reached over and smacked the back of his head, glaring. “No swearing until you get your own place, I won’t have you getting us kicked out because you teach one of the LeGumes that kind of language.” When both Carlos and Diego had settled, she sighed. “The world I was born into had a city called London. It wasn’t too different from this place in terms of smell, but all of the buildings were warm and reached taller than your eyes could see. They seemed to disappear into the clouds,” she whispered. “I don’t remember how old I was when Cruella was arrested for stealing those puppies, but it wasn’t soon after that the earth shook. I was knocked out by something, and when I woke up, we were in the family mansion with Cruella. We had enough food and water to last us a while, so we stayed inside while the family servants went out to investigate.” 

“But they hated mother!” Carlos whispered in surprise, knowing that everyone who knew what had happened refused to do anything but sneer at them. Diego shoved him and tried to get Noemí to continue the story, but Carlos was stuck on the fact that the servants were doing something to help them. “Was,” he hesitated to even ask, “she ever kind?” 

Thick fingers brushed through his ever growing curls and he had the strongest urge to start crying. “She was better at one point, but she was never very kind. She rewarded those who were loyal and paid every single person who worked for her well enough that they wouldn’t have to do anything else. She,” Noemí’s voice caught in her throat. “She’s sick. When she got help and had her company, she could have been a normal person if not a bit head strung and brunt.” She quickly changed the subject before any of them could start crying. “So the servants went out and came back with the news of others who were brought to a strange world, of kings and queens and  _ magic _ that was suddenly there. It was a few years of scrambling as everyone tried to figure out what was happening and who was a villain, who was a hero, at least to those in power. Belle and the Beast were the most calm and organized everything, dividing up the land so everyone was happy with their own kingdom while uniting them all at the same time.” She growled lowly in her throat, staring at the other wall to make sure neither of the boys thought it was aimed at them. “Then some idiots thought it would be great to try and take back power again, like Jafar and Cruella. They weren’t organized nearly enough and were quickly defeated. So the heroes called for their removal, and the Great Sweep happened.” 

The Great Sweep was what all of them called the rounding up of every single criminal and villain that the Beast king could get his hands on. The entirety of Gaston’s crew, including their wives and children, all of the big names that were deemed too dangerous, the leaders from certain groups, the animals that could talk and talk  _ mean _ . Even those who had reformed like Cassim, Anastasia, and Maleficent were not spared. 

It was a story Carlos would carry with him throughout his life, all the way up until he saw Diego getting attacked by a purple haired girl with talons for nails. “Get off him!” Carlos cried, tackling the girl to the side and using their similar size to pin her with his teeth bared in a threatening manner. “Who the hell do you think you are?” 

“Carlos, this isn’t your fight,” Diego warned him. He was bigger and easily lifted him off the girl, lightly tossing him to the side. “I stole something of hers, not realizing who it belonged to. Getting roughed up for it isn’t the worst thing in the world.” Realization that the wires his cousin had given him were from this girl hit him like a brick. 

“Yeah but Noemí is going to kill you for getting into more fights,” Carlos reminded him while the girl watched them with stunned curiosity. He turned to her with a snarl that was more for appearances than anything. “Your wires,” the girl nodded to confirm his suspicions, “are currently in a project of mine. If you can get me what I need to finish it, I can make you one too and that will cover both his debt,” he jerked a thumb over to Diego, “and yours to me for making it for you.” The girl seemed to consider this for a moment, but still looked hesitant. Usually Carlos didn’t reveal what he was working on before a deal was made, that way no one could steal his idea, but this was a special case. “I think I can make phones. They’d only be able to text, not call, but I’ve gotten one online and the supplies you would get me would make the other so I could see if the texting works.” 

That seemed to seal the idea in her head, so she stuck her hand out. “The names Mal, Maleficent's daughter. I know who both of you are, so if this falls through you’re going to owe me a lot more than a few working wires.” 

Carlos smiled crookedly. “Of course, you wouldn’t be an Isle kid otherwise.” 

* * *

It was on his thirteenth birthday, which he only knew because Noemí was the one who had helped his mom and had cleaned him off when it actually happened, Carlos finished the phones. Mal had stolen extra materials so that he would have four in total by the end, telling him she wasn’t going to have a use for just texting him. 

At first he wasn’t sure if they would only work at short distances, so he ran over to where Diego was staying with the other older generation kids. “Okay, just hold on to that and after ten minutes you’re going to try and text me something, got it?” Carlos barely got his words out before he was sprinting back home to make it before his mother noticed he was gone. He waited for what felt like ages before something popped up on his screen that said,  _ are you a genius or did you just get us both killed? _ , making him have to muffle his excitement with a pillow. 

Soon after handing the phones out to Mal’s crew, Carlos was officially a part of it because he was getting order after order for phones. Because it was Mal who was the original buyer, so she wanted control over who got the other ones. The older kids, who consisted of Anthony Tremaine, Clay Clayton, Rick Ratcliffe, Diego De Vil, Hermie Bing, and Harriet Hook, had their own territory in the caves to completely separate themselves from the rest of the isle. Mal’s only condition of them receiving phones was that if she needed them to hide anyone or some of their man power, they had to do it unless it was too dangerous. 

What Carlos wasn’t expecting was for the pirates to show up with a white flag so they could get some too. “Lay down your terms so I can tell you which ones are bullshit and we can get this over with,” Uma declared as she tied her signature braids back into place. Not one to ignore an opportunity when she saw one, Mal got to work. 


	4. Blood, Sweat, and Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay knew his father was a jerk, but he had it good compared to other kids on the isle. Especially once he found out that he had an entire other family willing to take him in and raise him as one of their own, even if they had every right to turn him away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to BriEva for the idea about the younger kids making Evie her tiara!

Jareth Almasi was given his mother’s last name not only because his father didn’t want his bastard to have his name, but also because her’s meant diamond and that was all Jafar could ever hope for. Power, riches. He couldn’t even come up with anything better than Jareth to name his child, naming him exactly what he was. A descendant. 

The first time Jafar told him to steal a loaf of bread, he got away with it because the manager couldn’t say his name. He had just walked up to the stand and asked how much, completely out of his element, before the man leaned down and said, “You look like one of those thieves they sent in from overseas. You don’t get nothin’ until I know your name, boy. If I know that I know who to send my boys after.” The look on his face was priceless when Jareth told him his name, the old man trying to work his fat tongue around the syllables. “What kind of name is that anyway?” 

“Arabic, sir,” Jareth informed him cheerily, noticing the distraction for what it was as he slipped a half loaf under the back of his shirt. “No one really knows how to say it. Does this mean that I can’t get some bread?” The bitten lip and fearful eyes still worked for him even at six. 

The man huffed. “What you got to pay with?” Seeing that Jareth had only a few coins, he handed him something small off the display and told him to scram. It took way too long for the guy to notice his thievory, only screaming curses when Jareth was out of reach. 

He thought his father would be proud of him, they could eat bread that was only stale instead of molding, something that was expensive for no other reason than it was  _ wanted.  _ “Did you pay for this?” his father had whispered, glaring at him. “You are just a  _ street rat _ , how could you possibly be my child? You’re name even reminds me of him. ‘The diamond in the rough’,” he growled and Jareth had to bite his lip to prevent himself from reminding his father that it was  _ him _ who chose Jareth’s last name. 

He changed his name that day and it was the first time his father approved of something. Jay was a name that everyone could say and that would never remind his father of Aladdin, who Jay thought might have been right to hurt his father. Especially if Jafar had treated him like he did Jay. 

Jafar wasn’t stupid enough to scar a six year old even if they did survive off of what Jay stole, not only would it draw unwanted attention for certain parties that Jay didn’t know yet, but because Jafar never wanted his son to have visible weaknesses. There were two types of people on the Isle, those who tried to get as little scars as possible to prove they were strong enough to defeat an opponent before they could get a shot in or were wealthy enough to buy protection. Others wore scars as badges of honor, proof of all that they had survived. “I was once an advisor to the Sultan of Agrabah. I was almost wed to the princess when a thief off the streets strutted into the palace and stole my life. We may be on a junk heap full of  _ shit _ , but scars are a sign of low status and I will not have it on my child.” Even if Jafar approved of the name change, he never called Jay anything other than child or boy. 

* * *

It was three years later that Jay found his real family. He was making his way back from a run with Mal who wasn’t as bad as he had first thought. She was fun to wrestle with, she talked smack with a smile on her face so he knew she was teasing. Plus, making friends with her brought him protection from his dad. The week before when he had shown up to a meet wheezing because his father had kicked in his ribs, Maleficent had stormed over to the Junk Shop and threatened to cut off his fathers balls if he tried to give her damaged goods again. Even though it was  _ her _ who held the debt, the knife to his groin had forced Jafar’s hand. 

Jay realized his mistake too late when he felt the hand bunch his hair at the back of his skull, a sharp tug stopping him in his tracks.  _ Never stop paying attention _ . “Are you Jareth Almasi?” The first thing that caught his attention was that she pronounced his name right, and the other was that she knew it at all. 

He spun around with a hand on her wrist so she would let go, not letting go even when they were facing each other. “Who’s asking?” he snapped at her, his lip curling. “And why are you stupid enough to try attacking me?” 

The girl was clearly older than him, maybe one of the kids whose mom was pregnant when they sent her over? It would make sense, that was what had happened to the oldest Gaston twins, except she was clearly arabic like him and none of the arabic countries had sent over minor criminals. “I’m not attacking you,” she huffed, breaking his train of thought. “I was trying to get your attention and you were lost in your own head.” She squinted her eyes at him. “You seem to do that a lot.” 

Jay blushed darkly. “What do you know?” He flinched when she reached for him, but she only grabbed his arm and started dragging him towards a ramshackle building where all of the prostitutes, minor criminals, and a few of the older kids lived. “You work here or something?” he asked, trying to sound tough even though he was exhausted and couldn’t really fight back. Even though his father couldn’t hit him anymore, didn’t mean he couldn’t lock him in a room and “forget” to feed him. 

She ignored him in favor of climbing the stairs, grumbling about gutting someone from navel to chin. When they reached what must have been her apartment, she turned around and checked him over. “You’re what, seven? Eight?” He ignored her. “Do you go by your full name or something else?” 

“Jay,” was all he got to say before she shoved him inside. He was met with the most mouth-watering smell he had ever had the pleasure of experiencing,  _ coffee _ . This wasn’t the sludge that the goblins brought and sold, it was fresh. He didn’t have time to ask for some before the girl was shoving him into a seat, and announcing their presence. 

“nO cousin of mine is getting beaten and starved, I don’t give a rats ass about how scary Jafar is, we’re adopting this one and you two can’t argue with me.”  _ What the actual fuck? _ Seeing the confusion on his face, she sat down on the arm of the chair he was in. “I’m Jade, I guess I forgot to tell you that. We’re cousins because our parents are twins, even though both of mine hate your dad. Dad does because of what happened with my half-brother, Mom does because he’s a dick who doesn’t deserve the family name.” 

“Language young lady,” a soft voice chastised her. When Jay finally caught sight of who it belonged to, he grabbed the bucket Jade offered him and threw up everything he had in his stomach, which wasn’t much. Eventually he was just dry heaving, his hair being held back by one of the two. “I know, usually fraternal twins don’t look so much alike,” his aunt whispered. She had the same face as his father, albeit a bit softer, but the eyes were exactly the same. 

There were whispers as someone else joined them, a man this time. Whoever was holding his hair tied it back quickly before leaving, soft footsteps disappearing into another part of the house. “Jay, you can’t hug that bucket forever. I know this is a lot to take in and Jade just kind of threw you in this mess without warning, but you’re not going to feel better until you stop looking at your own stomach contents.” This time when he looked up, there was no surprise. Just a man with a scruffy beard and rag clothing. “There you are,” he said with a smile. “My name is Cassim, I’m Jade’s father.” 

Jay nodded slowly. “I’m Jay, Jafar’s son. I’m almost ten.” Something passed over Cassim’s face which confused him, it was like anger but different because it wasn’t as aggressive. “Why is your face doing that?” 

Cassim laughed quietly before pointing him to a calendar which, though water stained and off by a year, was in great shape. It had all of the months at least. “It’s August and your birthday is in November,” he paused, and Jay nodded to show his was right. “But it’s almost fourteen years since they created the Isle, which means you’re going to be eleven, not ten.” 

That was where Jay got confused. His father never really kept track of the years, but he was certain that he was turning ten next. He walked up to the calendar and flipped to the right month, his breath catching in his throat when he saw that the 17th was circled with his birth name. “Have you done this every year? How have I not known you’ve existed? Did Jafar prevent you from seeing me, or me seeing you?” He was spiraling because for the first time he felt safe and that he could spiral. All of his father’s bull was crashing down around him and he didn’t know how to handle it. 

Strong arms wrapped around him hesitantly. “Your father had many reasons to keep you from knowing about us, but that’s for another day. What’s important now is that if you want to, you never have to go back to your father. You have a place with us if you want it, even if you aren’t ready for it today.” 

“I…” Any sane person wouldn’t jump on a chance to live with someone they met five minutes ago, but Jay wasn’t all that there. “I can?” Cassim’s nod was all he needed. 

* * *

Eventually, Jafar stopped looking for him and gave up on the debt from Maleficent. On the Isle if your kid didn’t come back, they were either dead or joined a gang and now out of your reach. Nasira made him miss the mother that he never got to meet, while Jade showed him what a family was supposed to be like. She gave him the confidence to not just align himself with Mal and Evie, but to love them in a way that way different from everything else. She was the one who told him it was okay when he felt that way about Carlos when he joined the group. 

Cassim was everything a father should be, while being completely open about how he felt like he needed to make up for abandoning Aladdin by doing his best with his youngest children. He only ever spoke the truth and never forced Jay to steal, though he didn’t ask where anything Jay brought home came from. 

It was because of them that when Evie started adopting the younger children of the Isle, it was easy for him to start helping them too. The two of them were the leaders of a group that made sure every child on the isle was safe and fed, with one of the kids from each family texting names when needed. Gaston Jr. made sure that all of the girls in his family unit disappeared the day they started bleeding, while Harriet and Jade cover the rest of the territories. Luckily the Hun children were all well taken care of by their fathers no matter their gender or abilities. 

Each kid that was identified went to the cave systems that most of the older generation kids lived in, making the trade off of taking care of them for the extra support all of the families sent them in forms of food, protection, clothing, anything they could give in exchange. 

So when he found three young girls at their apartment door, he didn’t question it and invited them in. “You three are an odd bunch to see, what do you want?” He quirked an eyebrow at them, making Dizzy Tremaine giggle and CJ Hook punch his arm. 

“We wanna do something for Mama Evie!” They told him in unison. Claudine Frollo brought out a sketch book and flipped it around to show him a crown design that looked like something found in Auradon. “She’s the Princess of the Isle and we want to make her a tiara! She told us that she won’t get one for a long time from her parents, so we figured this would be perfect!” She paused in her excited rambling, biting her lip. “We won’t make her cry, will we? Evie doesn’t like to cry.” 

Jay snorted. “I think she’ll be okay this once,” he assured them, looking over the design again. “It’ll take me a few weeks, but I can scrounge up most of this. The centerpiece though is going to be tough though, I might need to trade something for it.” He looked up to see all three of them grinning ear to ear, which he quickly put a stop to by ruffling their hair. “I’ll let you know when I have everything, then you can present it to her on her birthday or something.” 


	5. To Rule or Be Ruled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal knows all of the gangs of the Isle like the back of her hand, which she hopes will save her from their rage when she proposes her new idea. An unexpected party defends her before it can get that far though.

The Isle was divided into names and ages. The biggest names meant you were known, that someone had to know who you were, if only because your parent was evil instead of just criminal. There were forty-three big name villains/minions on the isle, with around fifty creatures like Ratigan, Scar, Shere Khan, the trolls and goblins. No one counted the criminals, the only ones bad enough to have been placed on the isle were turned into ghost stories to keep the streets clear at night. 

The older generation was made up of all the kids who were born previous to being thrown on the isle, or were born soon after. Anthony Tremaine was their leader, having learned diplomatic skills from his mother and a vicious streak from his grandmother. Harriet Hook was his right hand girl, while the rest were here for muscle and brains if they had any _.  _ Clay Clayton and Rick Ratcliffe were two of the oldest in the group, but Noemí De Vil held the tile for the entirety of the VKs. Her younger brother, Diego De Vil, and Hermie Bing were the last of the gang. The territory they controlled included the cave systems that were more maze than a home, the majority of the forest, besides what was allocated to the Huns, and anything their parents dare didn’t touch. 

Sammy Smee and Jonas Facillier were also apart of the older generation, but had aligned themselves under Uma’s flag. The daughter of Ursula had an entire crew made up of the pirate children; Gonzo, Bonny, Desiree, Big Murph, and CJ Hook. Harry and Gil followed her everywhere, attached at her hips. Her cousin Morgan was their decorator, less of a bloodthirsty pirate and more of a flag weaver. They ran the borders of the Isle with the docks as their headquarters. The one thing they didn’t have control over in that area was the barges, there was too much chaos there with not enough bodies with swords. 

Mal had her own gang, people she would trust with her life because they all knew if she was hurt because of them, they would get an eye for an eye. Jace and Harry who were more than happy to follow Carlos into more steady employment, Cora and Winter, cousins that carried their mothers adpitude for games, but also for strategy, Ginny Gothel, Eddie Balthazar who took the chance to get away from his father, and finally the twins, Yzla and Zevon. Her core group was easy enough to identify in the room, Jay was hanging out with Jade, who had declared herself neutral, while Carlos was spending some time with his cousins as well, and Evie was playing with the younger kids who weren’t old enough to choose a side. 

CJ was technically one of them because she was only ten, but it was pretty clear that she wanted to learn how to be a true pirate from Uma. The other younger ones were Squeaky Smee, Squirmy Smee, Uriel who was Uma’s younger brother, Reza who had recently been adopted by Cassim and Nasira, Frost, Claudine Frollo, and Dizzy Tremaine. __

The Hun kids had settled into their own section, five of the deadliest on the isle even with their youngest being a newborn. Baby nails are sharp, okay? They had agreed to let the gangs meet in their territory to create more leverage in the discussion that was about to begin. “Why did you call us here today?” The oldest, Khulan, had only whispered, but suddenly everyone was silent and looking at Mal. 

She straightened her back as her core crew returned to her side, trying to look powerful even at fourteen. “As you all know, our parents run their own separate territories with little diplomacy or care for what actually happens within them, besides possibly Shan Yu,” she added pointedly, which earned her a respectful nod from the Hun children.  _ So far, no one dead. _ “But we run things a little differently.” 

Uma interrupted her with a snort, rolling her eyes as she looked around the room questioningly. “Is that all you brought us here for? A run down of how everything is going, maybe a grab for more terriory?” 

“No,” Mal snarled, realizing she had to cut to the chase quicker than she was planning to. “I want an alliance.” She hid her enjoyment over how everyone in the room shut up when she said that, too stunned to do much more than let their jaws hang. “Between all of us, we control every inch of this place while our parents control only a fraction, however large they think it is. By creating an alliance between all of us, we would be able to do  _ whatever the hell we want _ . We could control the barges and actually split everything evenly, instead of fighting over scraps and maybe getting new clothes, but no food. We would have power.” Even though her gang knew what she was about to offer, they didn’t know the full extent of her plan. “I am willing to make an offer none of you can refuse to get it, if you have any doubts.” 

There was a low chuckle as Anthony leaned forward, a patrenizing look on his face. “We already take in all of your young ones,” he ground out, like he didn’t enjoy the control that brought, “what could you possibly offer us upfront?” 

“My territory. All of it.” It was too easy to shock all of them, Mal finally couldn’t contain her grin which she was positive was shit-eating. “Divided between all those who agree to the terms of the alliance of course, which are as follows. There will be a council of leaders, the existing ones if you so wish or some newly elected, under my leadership.” Before anyone could protest, she barreled on. “Small matters between gangs would be decided by me since I will have no territory to influence my decision, but large issues and laws would be decided by our council as a whole. Every gang having an equal voice, equal influence.” 

This was the hardest part, waiting to see what would happen. She knew that Uma was going to try and back out of it, not taking the territory for what it would “cost her”, while Anthony would talk to Harriet about what she thought before coming up with an answer. Khulan looked like she was going to agree, but was also waiting to see what everyone else thought about Mal’s proposition. 

What none of them were expecting was for Dizzy to bang a mallet, most likely borrowed from Claudine, on the table to get all of their attention. “If any of you even think to question this, you are an idiot.” She was staring straight at her cousin when she said it, not backing down even when he got angry. “Evie and Jay have been saving us for  _ years, _ bringing us to safety and providing the older kids with extra supplies to take care of us. You all know this,” she reminded them, but looked at her saviors before continuing. “But what you don’t know is the physical sacrifice they give to save us.” 

Claudine stepped forward. “When Daddy started to touch me,” she explained in a calm voice, not even tearing up, “Jay stormed into the house and held him against the wall. He told him that if he came looking for me, he would find a knife in his gut instead. When we were leaving, Daddy hit him with the hot poker. Jay didn’t even flinch, which scared him more.” 

Uriel tugged on Evie’s arm to get her attention before pointing to her stomach. With her permission, he lifted her shirt to show his sister the recent marks from where Ursula had tried to grab at Evie. Perfectly circle bruises wrapping from her right hip to under her left rib. 

“Each and every one of you has had someone you care for saved by them, by  _ Mal _ and her crew,” Dizzy continued. “We will side with her over you all a hundred times over,  _ all of us. _ ” She reached out a hand and it was Mal’s turn to be shocked when CJ Hook left the pirates to join her side of things. “Mal is the ruler of the isle and Evie is her queen,  _ our _ queen.” She took something out of her bag, placing it on Evie’s head with Jay’s help. 

When she realized it was a crown, Mal almost started crying while Evie collapsed onto her knees for hugs. Mal stepped in front of the scene to give them privacy, raising an eyebrow at the gathered gang members before her. “So are you my new allies, or are you against me?” 


	6. Authoritative Parenting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're parents had ruled the Isle much longer than the day that Mal had control, they wouldn't give it up so easily especially to the children they raised and then threw away.

Running the Isle under one flag was not an easy task. Their parents were far older with more power behind their backs than all of them combined, but they lacked the ability to see the advantage in a united front not just within their own gangs, but the entire Isle. 

Before Mal got all of the gangs to agree to an alliance, and she really had no idea how she pulled that off, they were divided into four groups that each had a fair bit of territory. Their parents on the other hand, were divided into seven territories that were completely unbalanced. The Main Territory, run by Maleficent in appearance and the Evil Queen in actuality, covered Bargain Castle, Jafar's Junk Shop, Castle-Across-the-Way, Hell Hall, Troll Town, and Queen of Hearts' Salon, but also all of the housing scattered throughout the center of the Isle. Most of it was open warehouse floors that had family units separated by roof scraps. The Sea Baring Territory was mostly made out of old piping, while the majority of the kids lived on one of the pirate ships. There were a few who lived in the piping systems to avoid their parents, but that was rare. It had three actual buildings which were Hook’s Inlet, Ursula's Fish and Chips, and Serpent Preparatory School for the Education of Miscreants _._ Hook, Ursula, and Morgana where the biggest baddies in the area, but they weren’t hands on rulers as the gangs took care of themselves. As long as their kids were fed,none of them really cared. Morgana and Ursula were bound to the shop anyway, unable to leave except when the full moon pulled the tide up enough for them to have an hours swim around the island _._

There were also a mix of smaller sub territories. The Huntsman ran a small network area that was a branch of Maleficent’s, but was self governed by Gaston and his band of idiots. There were four other goons sent over with him, his most loyal and brutish, as well as all of the ladies who they had wrangled into marriages. The women were passed around between the lot of them, so there were dozens of children with dark hair and a mix of eyes. Each and every one of them fell under Jr. and Third’s protection, who had been disappearing them since they were seven. The Neutral territory is also technically under Maleficent’s rule since it held all of those she banished from what little civilization they had. Most of them were insane, turned mad by their loss of magic, or were simply like that to start with. There were a few that were simply too dark for even the fae, like Evie’s father and his most loyal minions. 

Finally there was the uninhabitable areas, like the forest that Shan Yu had quickly staked claim to. As most of the other villains came from castles and wealth, they rarely stepped foot in the forest and it made the perfect spot to scavenge. The Non-Humanoid Territory was run by all of the animals and creatures that had been sent over who got their own barge deliveries to prevent starvation and them trying to eat each other. The last territory was held by Yen Sid and solely consisted of Dragon Hall. 

The fact that the adults were so separated was probably why there were no casualties, they weren’t smart enough to realize what was happening. They staked their claim by first taking the barges, paying off the goblins to stay for a longer period of time so they could sort through everything. Mal stood on a box above them all, waiting for her enforcers to settle the crowd. As soon as that was done, she allowed her eyes to glow. “My mother is Maleficent, the once proud protector of the moors. Now she is on this _shit_ because of an idiot high on power! Well screw Auradon.” That got her a few cheers, even though everyone was itching to make a grab. “They think that they left us here to become a bunch of savages, but I’m guessing more than a few of you were like my mother. Proud, powerful, _fed._ ” _That_ got everyone’s attention and the last of the resistance died out. “The people of the Isle deserve better, _are_ better than the way we have been acting. So from today forward, there’s a new order! _My_ order.” 

Before anyone could start protesting, Jr whistled to get everyone’s attention. “Anyone who needs building supplies to repair your homes or apartments, over here! Vendors over to Jay for food and trinkets, everyone else to Carlos and Evie for rations! New fabrics for clothes and basic foods!” 

Uma’s squad set up the lines while Mal’s crew guarded what they had separated out for the gangs as a sign of good will. The Huns and the Pirates didn’t need as much food as the rest of them, they were scavengers and fisherman so they were able to find what they needed. But at the same time, they didn’t get as much material supplies. A lot of their clothes were worn out and they had a hard time patching them, while any holes in their ships or shelters were covered with moss and tied into place.

“You know,” Uma said as she walked over to Mal to collect her part, “this ain’t actually that bad working with you.” She grabbed the fishing supplies and metal for weapons they provided her. “Just remember, it’s working  _ with _ you.” 

“Oh, is it now?” Gaston and his group of thugs laughed darkly, stalking forward like the hunters they used to be, none of them breaking eye contact even as Uma threw her stuff to one of her crew and drew her sword, not even as Mal’s eyes started to glow. “Are you the one taking my property, little dragon? Are you collecting children for your hoard, since there’s no gold here?” 

The last person any of them expected to see pressed a sword into Gaston’s neck, pinning his arm behind his back so he wouldn’t draw his own. “Hello Father,” Gil whispered with his expression completely void of his usual happiness. “I don’t know if you remember me because its been a lot of years, but I’m your third kid. I was between Gaston the third and Gabriel.” 

Gaston snarled even as everyone else froze, his men already having recognized who was standing before them and unsure how to help. “I didn’t have a son between those two and my daughter drowned.” Uma was moving forward slowly, her sword lowered so none of the thugs would attack her or spook Gil. “Ask the sea witch, she watched it happen!” 

“She watched you throw me in for telling you I wanted to learn how to be a boy, she watched you leave me to drown. She watched as I finally started breathing again on land throwing up water! She heard me tell her I was used to choking on something salty…” Gil continued in a completely calm voice. “I know you can’t die on here, father, but I can give you something to choke on anyway.” A knife appeared in Gil’s right hand, embedded into Gaston’s neck soon after. He was next to Uma in the seconds it took the other men to realize what happened, one grabbing the body while the others moved to attack. 

Everything stopped as Maleficent appeared where the wood of the docks met the stone paths of town. She observed Gaston’s gurgling with only a raised eyebrow before turning to Mal. “You may leave,” she informed the huntsmen in a soft whisper. As soon as they were out of range, a smile pulled on her mother’s cheeks. “From what I hear, you managed to unite the children of the isle under you and took control of the barges.” As calm as she appeared, Mal knew better than to hope. “And you did it all under  _ your _ name, how...interesting.” 

She shrunk back from her mother when she finally turned, looking at Uma for only a moment before following. Mal knew she was in trouble, she just didn’t know how bad her punishment would be. When her mother had clear moments where she knew exactly what was happening, she would tell Mal how much she was loved. When she was the most gone, she would rage and send Mal off with one of her knuckleheads because apparently she hadn’t suffered enough. 


	7. Under the Table and Behind Closed Doors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben grew up in a palace with loving parents and anything he could ever want, but he wasn't stupid. He knew fairy tales weren't all happiness and good, he knew that happily-ever-afters were hard won, and that sometimes the heroes of the story got it wrong. But what about his own parents?

Prince Benjamin Florian Le Prince de Beaumont was seven when he first started asking questions about things that he knew he shouldn’t. He had grown up in a marvelous castle with servants who would tell him stories and pretend to sneak him treats, though back then he had thought they would truly get in trouble for it. He was always a curious person, adventuring into every nook and cranny of the castle to discover its secrets, but before he hadn’t known that what he was doing was wrong. Now, he knew that the Isle he saw outside his window was not to be spoken of. 

The reason he disobeyed his parents was simple: they were keeping secrets from him and had told him not to do the same. It was accidental really, how he found out. “Whas this?” he’d questioned aloud when he discovered a totem he didn’t recognize, reaching up onto his toes to grab it. He had just barely touched it when he lost his footing and fell over, only to notice that the totem did not follow him. In fact, it somehow returned to its original position. Before he could even get up, there was a rush of air as a door opened to his left, leading to a pathway that was clearly well used. “A servants passage!” He dashed inside just before it closed

Ben’s mom had explained that when the war was going on, they built the castle so that servants would have places to hide if there was an attack. He had seen servants going in and out of a few nooks before, so they were most likely now used for avoiding foot traffic. 

Finally he entered a small alcove and was surprised by how much dust was in this part of the passages, but also the small grate at what would probably be a perfect height for adults. Not so much for him. Not for the first time, Ben wished he was already big enough to be a part of what was going on, to _know_ what was going on. He climbed up on a table that wouldn’t have held anyone bigger, poking his fingers into the grate so he could get a better look. 

“...apparently that is because those same kids are old enough to fight. Dozens of them fighting over _our_ garbage, looking thin and scared…” Of course Ben had met the other rulers, in fact the closest to his parents were often over for dinner. This person he didn’t know. “Please, at the very least get Gothel’s child out of there. I have been raised by that woman and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone.”

All of the air left his lungs as he realized what was going on. The name Gothel rang in his ears as he remembered the stories his parents had told him about before he was born. They told him about how how a mean woman had stolen a princess with magical hair, locking her away in a tower away from everything she knew and loved, all while raising her as her own. They told him other things too, but that one terrified him the most. Because Rapunzel _loved_ her villian, even as Gothel hurt her. He’d had this worry ever since that the same would happen to him, except he would never notice and there would be no one to save him. Dark, for a seven year old, huh? 

He heard his father try to calm Rapunzel down and even owned up to his mistakes, but he refused to bring the children over. “...on the off chance that they are good, we would be tearing them away from the only family and _home_ they’ve ever known.” Ben made a face, confused as to why the children wouldn’t be good. They couldn’t be any worse than Chad who shoved kids when he was upset, Audrey who cried to get what she wanted, and Jane who went along with it all. The three of them were his friends, so why wouldn’t the Isle kids be? 

He didn’t hear Rapunzel’s threat, he had already started back the way he came and was far away before the meeting ended. In fact, his mother found him in the library with a book about Rapunzel’s tale when she went to look from him. “What are you reading, ma petite chou?” 

“I’m reading about Princess Rapunzel and her husband Eugene...she was raised by a villian, wasn’t she?” Clearly his mother had no idea where this came from, because her shock prevented her from answering his question. “Mommy, there are kids on the isle and they are being raised by villains like Rapunzel was. And she was sad and lonely. A lot. Can we invite them over for a playdate?” 

There was a low sigh that cut his mother off, his father coming into view soon after. “Ben, those children need to stay with their parents. It would hurt them to be taken away from their parents, just like Gothel did to Rapunzel. Gothel made Rapunzel sad because she wasn’t actually her mother, but I’m sure even villains love their kids. It’s the one thing that’s universal, I promise.” His father pressed a kiss to his forehead, moving the book off to the side in the same motion. “Why don’t we invite your friends over instead?” 

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” his mother agreed, though her eyes were sad. 

* * *

Sadly none of his friends could join him, so he asked if his aunts could. Ella Charming and Snow White might not have been born as his mother’s sisters, but they were as good as once they got to know each other, so they regularly visited to teach Ben. “Benji!” Snow exclaimed when she saw him, swooping him up into a hug before planting a red lipstick kiss on his cheek. 

“Must you always do that?” Aunt Ella questioned with a teasing smile, wiping away any evidence with her sleeve. “Hello Ben, I hope you’ve had a good day so far,” she told him in a soft voice, before turning to look at his father. Each time they met, it was like she turned to stone. “King Adam.” She curtsied. 

“Cinderella,” his father half growled before his mother squeezed his arm. “Welcome.” He never seemed to get along with his mother’s friends, which only made her invite them over more often. “I would suggest sticking to the grounds for the evening, Prince Ben has been inside all day and could use the fresh air.” 

Each of them grabbed one of his hands, Aunt Snow on his left and Aunt Ella on his right. They guided him to the garden in silence, only breaking it to whisper hellos to whoever they passed in the hallway that greeted them. “Can you leave us for the evening?” Snow asked the guards that had followed them, looking up through her lashes in the way she always did when she wanted them to be alone. As soon as the guards left, both of his aunts relaxed and released their grips on his hands. “We’re alone.”

“For the first time in ages,” Aunt Ella agreed. She kicked off her shoes to reveal bare feet that were quickly speckled with grass, a soft smile appearing on her face as she sat down with her dress splayed. “Ben, would you like to hear a story?” 

“Is it about your step sisters?!” He couldn’t stop the excitement from seeping into his voice, but apparently it was taken the wrong way as both of his aunts tensed. “I know what my parents told me, but I want to know the _real_ story. Were they really that bad? Do you think they deserve to be on the Isle? Do they have kids like Mother Gothel?” 

Snow’s head snapped up. “Where did you hear that? We just found out in today’s…” Her eyes narrowed as she realized what must have happened. “Ben, were you spying on our meeting today?” As much as she seemed to disapprove, she wasn’t tense anymore and he took that as a good sign. 

“Does it matter, Snow? He knows about it now and we have the chance to tell him the truth.” Aunt Ella turned back to look at him with a small smile. “Ben, one day you’re going to be king and I hope you’ll remember our stories when you sit on that throne, because no,” she whispered towards the end. “I do not think that my sisters should be on the isle.” 

So she told him. She told him about how when they first arrived at her home, the girls were kind to her and they were sisters. Of course they were snotty and disrespectful to the servants, especially when their mother was around, but on the days when they would sit in her father’s study and hear stories about his travels, how he fell in love with her step-mother. He saw something in her that no one else did, her pain from losing someone she loved. They came together in their pain, and healed together. “But when my father died,” Aunt Ella explained, “it hurt my step-mother like nothing else. She’d lost two husbands and was left to care for three girls and a house without the ability to get a job. Women weren’t allowed to work unless they were servants, and she was not going to leave us to our own devices, so she said goodbye to the staff.” She wiped away a few tears, but kept going. She smiled when Ben held her hand and it made happiness burst into a smile on his face. “She grew colder and more strict with my sisters, until they didn’t seem to think of me as anyone other than a servant. And even then, they thought of me very little.” 

Ben patted his aunt’s hand to let her know he wanted to speak, before stating, “I can’t imagine how lonely it must have been to all of a sudden have no one. I at least have my tutors to play with when no one else is around.” 

“And us,” Aunt Ella teased back. “But don’t worry about me, I’ve always been good with animals and they were more than happy to play with me while I did my chores.” As if to prove her point, she lifted her hand off the ground to say hello to the garden snake that had wrapped around her fingers. “Hello little friend, would you like to say hello to our King while I finish the story?” Ben made a face and politely declined, so Aunt Snow held out her hands instead. “All animals are sacred, Ben, and you must remember to treat them kindly as they would do unto you in return.” With that out of the way, she quickly rushed through the parts he already knew, like how she ran into the prince in the forest not knowing it was him, how she danced with him until midnight. “Now, my step-mother was instructed to pay off her debts to me through hard work in the castle while my sisters helped. While Anastasia was buying food in the marketplace, she met a baker named Anthony that she fell madly in love with and eventually married. She came home soon after and found me, breaking down in tears about how she really needed a sister to talk to. We worked things out, and soon Drizella followed. I don’t know about Dizzy, but Ana would never have a child with anyone but her husband. Sadly, she was taken away from him when she was sent to the isle.” 

Ben hugged his aunt tightly and let himself be pulled into her lap while she cried into his hair. Aunt Snow would tell him her own story a few days later, and to tell the truth he liked that story much better than the one his parents told. No one was evil in that story, not even the fae who was just upset about her home being destroyed. 

So he didn’t forget what they told him. Not even when Aurora told him about a faerie who was hurt by humans but still saved her in the end. Not when he got out paper and some charcoal, moving his hands as she described her Godmother’s wings, her horns _._ It would be years later when he realized he hadn’t drawn Maleficent at all, but a purple haired fae who shared her blood. 

He didn’t forget when he was twelve or thirteen, it was so close to his birthday and they never celebrated on the actual day anymore so he could never keep it straight, and his father had just informed him that he was too young to hear about the Isle. “Fine, I’ll learn for myself,” he muttered as he snuck into the council room using the passage way he found when he was young. It was almost too easy for him to figure out how to use the map that watched over the Isle, giving warning to any attempted breakouts or uprisings. What Ben didn’t expect was to see a girl his age carrying a knife with her through the streets, trying to hide her fear. He didn’t expect to see her get dragged into an alley with a hand already groping her chest while her assailant’s other one pinned her hand holding the knife to the wall. He forced his fist into his mouth to prevent the scream building up in his throat, biting down until he tasted blood when no one did a thing. Like it was _normal_. He raced back the way he came, out of the passageway and into the library while he searched frantically. “I need to get them out of there…” He found the decree in some tattered old book no one would have paid attention to, in the laws of the land. He would have to wait until he was sixteen, but it would work. He could only hope the children of the Isle would make it that long.


	8. Offerings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal trusted very few people on the isle and they all fell under her banner. Well, except one.

Being called into Yen Sid’s office wasn’t usually anything to be scared of. Usually he would offer you something he thought you might need, like condoms or food, before asking about your classes. That was when things were usual, but it was eerily clear that there was something wrong when Mal and her gang walked into his office. “Did we do something?” 

“Not particularly, and yet I still find you in my office,” he said with a sigh, motioning for them to take a seat in one of the metal folding chairs he had salvaged from the barges. Once they were as settled as they could be, he leaned forward. “You four have been hand picked to take part in a new movement enacted by the king. Though you do have the ability to say no, your parents will most likely force you into it anyway. You will be attending school at Auradon Prep starting next week.” 

Mal paled worse than usual. “You know that’s not actually what’s going to happen, we’ll be executed the moment we get off the Isle! Beast would never, _ever_ , allow one of us off willingly unless it was to make an example of us. How can you be so calm right now?” 

“Because it was not the beast I was speaking of.” Immediately four jaws slammed shut. “As you know, Belle and Beat have a son your age who is in training to rule. Part of his training is that on his sixteenth birthday, he be gifted control over a small portion of Auradon so he can practice with the supervision of his parents. From there, the people can decide if he is truly a fit king and will vote on his twenty first. It just so happens that they decided on Auradon City, which includes the Isle of the Lost in a formality that he used to his advantage.” The old man’s expression relaxed and he seemed kind for once. “Ben is young and still believes that the villian children can be good, you will be safe under his protection.” 

To her right, Jay flinched. He was always the one who did the protecting on the Isle, it was going to be hard for him to adjust to the thought that now he was the one in need, especially when it was coming from a prince. 

Yen Sid continued as if nothing happened. “The young prince believes that if he can prove the worst of the Villains kids are good, he can bring anyone else over without argument.” It was a good plan, too good for an Auradon prince. Mal’s eyes narrowed. “He is planning to bring over Ursula, Hook, and Gaston’s children next _._ ” 

“You helped him with this, didn’t you?” Evie asked in an even tone, already knowing the answer. “That’s why it’s perfect, because you knew exactly who to choose and who to offer it to next. Uma will turn us down when we ask her because she has control, but if we didn’t then she’d be insulted. You _knew_.”

“Yes, just as I always knew you were just ‘putting up face’ when you acted like you had no idea what was happening in my classes.” Of course he was an old man now, but they all knew he was once a more powerful wizard than most of their parents. “Run along now, and try to keep this secret between us. No one wants your parents to have time to fully flesh out a plan.” 

* * *

“Fuck, I hate that that sounds really smart,” Freddie cursed. “And you’re sure that there’s no reason to think they’re going to try and kill you? Cause, I already called dibs on your bodies when you die and I won’t see them if you’re in Auradon.” 

While Freddie’s siblings snorted at her antics, Mal addressed the entire council. “We trust Yen Sid, as do most of you. I make this decision for my crew alone, we’re going. Based on what happens when we get there, you as a council can decide if everyone else will follow and how that will happen.” She took a deep breath in as her chest tightened in fear. “Uma, King Ben has extended the offer to you and yours as the next to cross over if that is what you want.” 

Uma would have looked shocked if she didn’t have such a good mask. “No, we’re staying, but tell him thanks for the offer.” She closed her eyes as if preparing for something, before looking directly in Mal’s eyes. “I need to stay behind to protect my people while you’re gone, your protection doesn’t matter when you aren’t here.” She hesitated before glancing around the room, giving in with a sigh. “But get me a hole, Mal,” Uma promised her, “and I’ll sail ‘um out of here with the ones who need to be freed.” 

Any other time Mal might have questioned her, but Uma’s promise came with a push of magic. She was giving her word, literally.


	9. A Gift, A Curse, Or Just Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to leave and there is so much to be done. First off, they need to survive their parents long enough to get into the limo. Second, they need to make it to Auradon in one piece. They were prepared to lose some fingers, they didn't expect to gain body parts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The line splits the two points of view

It wasn’t long before their parents caught wind of the news, what with the official proclamation appearing the very day they were supposed to leave. Jafar immediately called a meeting with Maleficent and the others, glaring at his son for being alive. “You’ve been lacking in your duties, Jay.”

“Is that important when he’s about to make up for it?” Maleficent asked slyly, shutting down any argument from the others about what their children had been up to. “Queenie, get my spellbook. De Vil, their bags. Jafar, the eyes.” She moved over to her throne and threw herself onto it, lounging while the others scrambled to fulfill her orders. This was the protector of the moors she used to be, regal and strict, while also trying to hide her smile. “You four are going to Auradon for school, the young prince thinks that you can be _saved_ ,” she snarled, her eyes flashing dark green. “You are going to find a fairy godmother’s wand and you are going to free us, do you understand?” 

Mal understood just fine. Her mother was not an idiot, as much as she had lost herself on the Isle, she was almost certainly aware that they were planning something. All her mother was asking at that moment was for them to not leave her behind. “Mother, I swear to you that I will get you back to the Moors as soon as I am able.” 

“Evie,” Grimilhide called in a sing-song voice, patting the chair across from her. “When you get to Auradon, you will start to feel magic for the first time. Us witches feel it like a cloak that we wear instead if it being a part of us like the fae, but I have no idea how your father’s blood is going to affect you out there.” She gripped Evie’s chin in between long fingers with her nails digging into her daughter’s cheeks. “You are a princess and you will not show weakness. They will have tried to tarnish our family name and erase the fact that you have royal blood.” For the first time since coming to the Isle, Grimilhide’s eyes turned completely black. Her gaze never left Evie as she whispered, “ _remind them_.” 

There were some days that Mal forgot that her friend was only half witch, but when Evie smiled and her teeth seemed sharper than before, it was hard not to remember.

* * *

The limo looked normal to the human eye, but for the first time Mal caught the scent of magic in the air as it moved towards them and as it passed through her, she felt her own eyes start to flicker green as it approached. “Be ready for anything, we don’t know what we’re looking at,” she warned her friends as she glared at the limo. 

“It’s a barrier, Mali,” Hayden whispered from behind her and she internally cursed herself for getting distracted, turning slowly to meet his eyes. “It’ll let only you four through, so they don’t have any unexpected tag-alongs.” They had mostly avoided each other since the Uma incident, but today seemed to be an exception. He slowly reached out as not to startle her, and for some reason hugged her tightly. “Dad wishes you well and so do I, but be prepared for anything. We might have been forced away from you, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t still family.” 

Mal felt like she was standing on Uma’s ship, the world rocking underneath her. “I thought Dad hated me for what my mother did,” she blurted, but before her brother could answer there were nails digging into her shoulders as her mother pulled her away. 

Maleficent seemed to have settled into her role on the isle, but she was hardened in her hatred of humans. She was proved right time and time again, finding those who deserved to be punished running free on the isle and those who didn’t trapped with them anyway. “That boy and his father are of no concern to you. He was a mistake,” she reminded Mal, and it seemed as if her mother’s regret was real. “But that does not mean you will lower yourself to them, I was right to banish him and his kin. The more they are worshiped, the more powerful they become. Do you understand me?

“Yes, mother,” Mal responded even though her head was whirling. _Does the same apply to me? Does dad want to see me? Could I have had a parent who loves me like Haydn?_ When she felt the lump in her throat, she forced the thoughts away to focus on the task at hand. She had to get into the limo and make sure her friends escaped unscathed. 

Evie was waiting beside it, but the boys were nowhere to be seen. “Cruella wanted to tell Carlos something before he left, but I was able to put all of his things in the limo beforehand.” As she spoke, she twirled a strand of hair until it stood out from the rest, their sign for Carlos’ cat Beelzebub. It would seem the runt would be joining them, though where she had hidden it was beyond Mal. Evie’s eyes widened before a snarl appeared on her lips.“Mal, get in. _Now._ ” 

She almost wanted to whip her head around to see what had happened, but she knew that Evie was never wrong about this kind of thing. Mal climbed into the limo and turned to watch from the back window, finally understanding why Evie had pushed it. Jay was limping towards them in a way that she recognized from when she saw women leave Gaston’s and a growl formed low in her throat over the thought that someone had _dared_ touch what was her’s. Had dared to claim him in that way. Jafar was walking behind him with a perfect mask, his hand on the back of Jay’s neck was possessive and clear, even as he shoved him towards the doors. “How bad?” she questioned the second the door opened. 

Jay’s eyes were duller than usual and his fists were bloody, most likely from fighting back, but there were no other visible wounds on his body. “He said that if I was going to be a street rat like my mother, he might as well use me for the same thing,” he croaked out. He pulled down his collar to reveal a dark bruise on his neck that had clearly been bleeding at some point. 

“He _bit_ you,” Mal ground out before pulling him closer to her. “I swear to the gods that when that man dies again, it will be by my hand and I will make him suffer a thousand times over what he has done to you.” She knew she was crying, at least, her own version of it. The tears weren’t actually there, but her hands were shaking and her chest heaved. 

Somehow she ended up straddling his lap with their foreheads pressed together, noses brushing as they both tried to figure out how to breathe. At some point Carlos joined in on their pile, forcing Mal to move over to her right so that she was sitting on the seat with her legs tangled up with his over Jay’s lap. “So, we’ve all had it rough getting here?” Carlos tried to joke, but no one responded. 

Eventually Evie got their attention and they split apart, clearing their expressions right before the driver joined them in the car. “I apologize for the delay, some of the local kids thought it would be funny to try taking my radio.” None of them knew who he was talking to, so they stayed quiet. He closed the divider between them as they grew closer to the bridge, most likely so they wouldn’t know how to open the barrier if they ever got the chance. 

There wasn’t a lot of time to think about it before they officially passed through the barrier and everything went to shit. 

* * *

Carlos didn’t understand what was happening, but he knew enough to back as far away from his friends as possible. Mal’s hair had burst into a burning blue flame the second they crossed the barrier, but it died quickly after and left her hair a deeper purple with blue streaks in the mix. Her eyes were glowing and a low growl was coming from her throat as she held her head in the fetal position, the top of her head splitting in two places as horns slowly started to protrude through her skin. She had warned them that this might happen, she was prepared for the pain and had taken one of Evie’s potions to help it along. 

The other two were scaring him. Evie had paled almost immediately, far past her step-sister, and had lurched forward to throw up. She stayed bent over as she started screaming, her body shaking from the pain as her own head split open. They all knew her father once had horns, but they weren’t expecting them to be passed down to Evie. Her sharp nails scratched at the seats, trying to find something stable. Her horns were coming faster than Mal’s who was crying silently as she watched everyone fall apart. 

Carlos turned to Jay hoping he would be able to help, but the state he was in was far worse than the girls. Both of his arms were glowing as golden marks burned their way from his wrists to his shoulders, shackles that wouldn’t come off until someone wished him free. The fact that Jay was crying scared Carlos the most. 

“What’s going on back there?” The driver seemed to have realized that something was wrong and apparently had pulled to the side of the road, dropping the divider between them. When he saw the state Carlos’ friends were in, he pulled out a device all while muttering, “Shit, hold on I’m taking you to a place where they can help you, and I’ll make sure King Ben is there to explain everything.”

Mal seemed to be getting control over herself and whispered, “do it.” There was a bit of static before they could hear the driver talking to someone again, before a device was shoved into Carlos’ hands and he was told to hold it up. 

“Okay, I’ll get the emergency nurses ready,” a voice coming from the radio promised.


	10. Introductions are in Order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince Ben knew that it was going to be a tough transition, but he was horrified to find out that his decision had caused so much pain to those he was trying to help. Forgiveness was all he could hope for, but he got so much more.

Prince Benjamin Florian Le Prince de Beaumont was no longer a cheeky seven year old, he was sixteen years old and all he wanted was to do right by his people. All of them. He had believed wholeheartedly that bringing over the villain kids would help them, but he wasn’t expecting that they would end up in the hospital. 

“I’m so sorry, my prince,” the driver apologized when he realized that Ben had arrived. “Everything went fine when I arrived, though the boys seemed a little worse for wear like they’d just been in a fight. They were quiet during the ride and then we crossed the barrier and the screaming started…” 

The driver was clearly distressed by the thought of the villain kids being in pain and it made the tension in Ben’s shoulders ease slightly. “You did everything asked of you and took initiative by bringing them here instead of ignoring their need. I appreciate everything you did today, thank you,” he said as he gave a tired smile. When he spotted a nurse with the magical emergency insignia on her coat, he threw niceties out and abruptly walked away from the driver to run after her. “Miss? Can I speak to you a moment?” 

The nurse turned around and appeared ready to give him a lecture before she realized who he was. “King Ben,” she teased as she opened her arms for a hug. It took him a second to realize it was Aurora, but he fell into her embrace the second it dawned on him. “I assume you’re here to check on the children?” 

“Yes…” He sighed. “Is it right for me to assume that you’re one of the few who is willing to work with them?” He pulled away from her hug when he felt her nod, his fingers finding their way to his nose so he could pinch the bridge. “What’s the damage? The driver mentioned that the boys seemed to be dealing with injuries from a fight?” 

Aurora paled, and took a deep breath to prepare herself. “The girls are dealing with the physical attributes that come with their heritage appearing, both of them now have horns that broke through the skin but have no other physical damage. The girls and Jay, as he asked us to call him, suddenly came into their magic and are struggling to control it. There are other physical injuries, but those I can not disclose to you as they do not affect anyone’s safety.” 

“Understood,” he said, trying to keep his voice from cracking at the thought that they had to suffer because of his choice. “Can I see any of them?” He followed her up the stairs to one of the rooms for only physical damage, seeing the name “Carlos” on the clipboard attached to the wall. “What’s he like?” 

“Extremely smart,” Aurora gushed, much to his surprise. “You know I have a habit of talking to myself when I work, and he was responding to everything I was saying because he understood all of the medical terms. He told me he collected books on the Isle and even though he’s more interested in technology, he would read anything he got his hands on.” 

Ben found himself checking his own bias listening to her, realizing he was asking if he was as crazy as his mother. “He sounds like he’ll fit right in,” he whispered. Aurora opened the door slowly, holding out a hand to stop him from joining her in the room until she had asked Carlos if he was up to visitors. Finally, he was allowed inside. 

The boy sitting in the hospital bed had a two toned head of curls and freckles covering his entire body. The part that threw Ben off was that a lot of his freckles were made. There were small circular burns running up and down his arms, bandages covering some areas where there must have been fresh ones. “You must be the prince Yen Sid told us about.” He was nervously picking at the blanket, but the rest of his body was completely still. 

“I am.” 

* * *

When Ben left the room, he found the nearest trashcan and released the bile that had been building up since their conversation started. Ben had asked if Carlos felt comfortable explaining the scars on his body, and the boy had shrugged. “Mrs. Aurora can tell you better than I can.” With permission being granted, Aurora shared all of the damage that she had taken note of with Carlos adding an explanation as to where they came from. He had scars all up and down his legs from the bear traps in his mother’s closets, cigarette burns on the insides of his upper arms and upper thighs because as Carlos explained, “they’re the most sensitive part of the body, you know.” The worst two were the scars on his cheeks from when his mother had tried to “skin him for his spots” and the brand on his left shoulder blade from a hot poker. It was a design that used to go on everything Cruella produced. Why not her son? 

“Most of the villain kids view their scars as a source of pride,” Aurora explained quietly, having been one of the few to have crossed the barrier to check on the medical conditions of the children. “They don’t understand that what they experienced was abuse, its just the way things were and the fact that they survived it is a fact they are proud of.” 

Knowing that just made Ben feel worse, but he took the mouthwash she handed him and cleaned out his mouth. “Who’s next?” Aurora didn’t have time to answer before whispering reached them from other nurses. 

“ _Did you see those scars? I haven’t seen that since before they got rid of sex work, do you think one of the boys was her pimp?_ ” Aurora growled lowly in her throat, leaving Ben where he was. From the amount of words she was using, he assumed she was reminding them about the rules of conduct in place for the hospital. 

His time in Mal’s room was over quickly, at least once Aurora finally returned. His first impression of her was a buzzed head and bandages wrapped around the base of her horns, with her glaring at him. “You must be the reason we’re here.” All he got from her after that was her father wasn’t fae, which was most likely the reason why her horns hadn’t come in while she was on the isle. The image she had left him with when she shrugged and told him, “they were supposed to grow in like teeth” was a strange one and he was forced to literally shake his head to focus. He went to Evie’s next. 

He was greeted by a similar sight, but this time a nurse was trying to convince her that she wasn’t allowed to magically grow her hair back. “Princess Evie, tales of your beauty have been whispered in my ears but they were clearly deflated.” He kissed her hand when she offered it to him _,_ and smiled when she giggled. _._

“Just because you’re charming doesn’t mean I like you,” she warned him, but her smile didn’t waiver. “I appreciate the chance to join you in your city and prove myself worthy of the kindness you have shown to me and mine.” 

Ben blushed. “Princess Evie, it wasn’t kindness to extend a chance to you which you should have been given long ago.” As good as her mask was, he was always good at reading people trained the same way he was. Her smile didn’t change, but the corners of her eyes crinkled and he knew it was suddenly genuine. “I hope to see you in classes soon,” he said as he bowed to kiss her hand, and with a quick glance to see that the nurse was distracted, he continued in a whisper, “and your hair fully returned.” He winked as he turned to leave and her laugh followed him out of the room. 

* * *

Aurora had said goodbye to him before he had gone to see Evie, she decided that she needed to have a conversation with Mal before they moved forward. So as he moved towards the more heavily warded part of the hospital, he was alone. “Jareth Almasi, asked to be called Jay,” he muttered under his breath as he tried to remember what Yen Sid had told him. He was seventeen, a year older than most of the others but he was in the same grade due to a mix up in the system. At least, that’s what the official documents said. 

When Ben entered the room, he felt all of the air leave his lungs in a rush. The _man_ in the hospital bed had gold wrapped around his arms in thick bands that only let slivers of skin show through and his eyes had the same golden magic swirling in them. There were runes all over his room to prevent him from turning to smoke until he could learn how to do it himself. “Hello Jay, I’m Ben and I…” 

Realization dawned on Jay’s face and he was suddenly glaring at Ben with such an intense gaze that he could feel it in his toes. “Where are the others? Why did you separate us? Yen Sid said this wasn’t a trap.” 

“It’s not, I assure you,” Ben said, scrambling to try to find a way to calm the new genie. “Mal and Evie need constant care as their horns came in rather rapidly, as did their magic. Their injuries are being tended to and they are being trained in how to control their magic, which is going quite well.” It was minuscule, but he saw Jay relax. “Carlos had no effects from crossing the border, but he did have a lot of previous injuries that hadn’t healed correctly or at all. The nurses are giving him salves to rub into his scars to ease the pain they cause, but he didn’t want them gone.”

Jay looked him over quickly, before leaning back into his pillows with a smug smirk on his face. “You’re not just here to tell me where they are, you’re here for something else or you wouldn’t be so nervous.” He said it like this was fact, and Ben almost hated that he was right. 

“I also wanted to ask you if you would be alright with a guest. The daughter of Genie is here, Jordan. She thinks she can help you get control over your powers, which would get you out of here faster.” Ben was hoping that he would be more agreeable if it meant seeing his friends, but from the look on Jay’s face that wasn’t going to happen. 


	11. Time Is An Illusion, But Magic Is Not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal was sick of being restricted to her hospital room and was going to find a way to get to her crew. Her plan was to manipulate Aurora into feeling bad for her, but what really happened threw Mal off completely. At least she knew the truth.

It had been exactly four days, seven hours, and twenty three minutes since they had arrived at the hospital. At least, since Mal had found the clock on the wall and realized it wasn’t broken. The nurses had left her alone rather quickly and she had heard them whispering about her outside the door like she couldn’t hear them. All besides Aurora, who had sat down and explained exactly what was happening to her in detail. “Any other questions?” she’d asked, clearly expecting them to be about the medical side of things. 

“Yeah, how could you leave us on the isle?” Mal expected a tearful response begging for forgiveness or denial, but what she wasn’t expecting was for Aurora to look her in the eyes and talk to her calmly. 

“When the Isle was created, I was just beginning to learn how to rule a kingdom and was scrambling with Phillip to save the people hurt by his mother. We put someone else in place as an advisor who would relay information for us to approve. For the first two years, we thought everything was good and that your mother was okay.” Mal snorted, but otherwise kept quiet. Aurora’s hands had turned to fists, her smile warping into a snarl that wasn’t fitting of a queen. “And then I went to the council to take my place, I found out what was really happening. I sat through one meeting listening to how godmother had taken control and was terrorizing the barges with new criminals. I listened, and when they were done I asked for a bucket and threw up.” 

The conversation had progressed from there, but Mal had expressed that she would allow Aurora to check on her friends and even signed something for her to bring to them. With someone actually trying to care for her, her recovery was becoming steady. Her magic was settling into her body easily and, for the time being, it was contained to healing her. 

Aurora visited at noon with soup, which was apparently a common time to eat in Auradon. It was called lunch. “I think it’s time to remove your bandages, you haven’t bled recently and I want to give your wounds time to breathe.” Seeing Mal’s confused expression, she chuckled. “Sometimes bandages are needed to protect against dirt and infection, but the hospital is clean and has slightly raised humidity. The humidity will help the wounds heal.” 

She didn’t respond, but she appreciated that Aurora explained everything that she was doing. A lot of this stuff was new to her and she didn’t blindly trust that whatever the nurses were doing was good. Mal closed her eyes when Aurora got close enough to touch her horns, trying to ignore the way her perfume subconsciously made her relax. 

“I was right, the skin around your horns has healed nicely and your magic has made sure that the bone and skin sealed together so there’s no chance of infection.” Aurora pulled away with a reassuring smile, before trying to smother a giggle with her hand. “Oh my,” she whispered as she pulled a mirror out of her coat.

Mal raised an eyebrow at her before looking into the mirror. She smirked as she watched her hair grow out to its original length, if only on the right side of her head. It was a good look, an Isle look, if she trusted anyone to take a knife to her head. “Huh, the color changed.” 

Aurora hummed. “You came in like that, but Carlos did tell me that your hair caught fire in the limo and that’s why it changed.” She said it so calmly, like she didn’t hold one of Mal’s secrets in her hands. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone who your father is. It's none of their business and will do nothing to advance my agenda. I want every child off that floating shit heap.” 

She laughed in surprise, not having heard anyone swear since they’d arrived. It was especially funny to hear coming from someone so soft spoken. “You’re not what I expected,” Mal admitted, watching Aurora’s reactions carefully, “mother told me a lot about you, the way she talked...I expected more frills and less snark.” 

“Of course she did, because that was me until sixteen years ago when I found out that not only had I subjected her to that hell, but that you had been born...” Most queens didn’t growl, but to be fair she was fae-raised and blessed. Aurora shook her head before moving over to a storage unit, pulling out a pair of jeans and a loose white t shirt. “Wear these if you want to, I would suggest it if you’re going to walk around since the dressing gowns they give patients here aren’t very covering.” 

Though the question was on the tip of her tongue, Mal didn’t dare ask about her sudden ability to walk around free. She just changed into the clothes offered quickly, silently glad that Aurora just continued with her tasks instead of making it a point to look away. “Where am I allowed to go?” She knew that if she asked and didn’t like the answer, she could just say she got confused later and they wouldn’t argue as much. 

“You can visit Carlos and Jay, they’re both healing rather well all things considered,” she answered. They started moving into the hallway where Mal could get a better understanding of her new surroundings. “Though Jay’s magic is out of his control at the moment, he’s in a protective room and the accidental magic he has created has done nothing dangerous.” Aurora smirked as she tapped her lip. “Well, if you don’t count turning one of my less _tactful_ colleagues into a pig when Jay overheard him make a comment about you. As our boss thought it was crude as well, when I told her, she decided he could stay as a pig for a few more minutes while she had better things to do.” 

Mal smiled at the image in her head. 

* * *

It didn’t take long for Aurora to be distracted by another nurse so that Mal could slip away for some privacy. Her most immediate target was finding Evie’s room because she wasn’t mentioned as someone she could see, but when she caught sight of white curls her goal changed. “Pup?” she questioned in a whisper, finding him in a supply room that was locked with a finger scan. More than likely he’d hacked it or done some trick to get inside, leaving it open just enough for Mal to join him before shutting it all the way. 

The second they were alone, she started searching him over for any new injuries. He didn’t argue with her and even removed the long sleeve shirt he was given so she had an easier time looking, his muscles tense as she brushed over them. “I’m okay and besides what happened in the limo, I have said nothing.” 

It was then that she realized that Carlos was waiting for her to punish him for screwing up, like she would have on the isle. This time though, she just grabbed his face in her hands and pressed their foreheads together, whispering, “I’m just glad you’re okay and I’m not upset about what you did in the limo, it got us here alive.” Once he relaxed into her hold, she moved her hands down to his shoulders and pulled him into a searing kiss. It was rare that she kissed him when they were alone together, but both of them needed the reassurance that they were okay. “You are mine and no one is taking you away from me, you got that? You are a part of my crew and I take care of what’s mine.”

Even in the dark, she could see the blush creeping up his neck and bleeding into his cheeks. He was almost cute when that happened, even though he could easily kill her in the small space. “I know, thank you…” he whispered, pursing his lips slightly and she took the hint to indulge him in a much more chaste kiss. 

“We need to find the others,” Mal informed him. Even though giving up the opportunity to remain tucked away with one of hers was crushing, she needed to make sure that the other two were just as safe as Carlos was. 

He nodded in agreement before stopping her from opening the door, footsteps soon following as she realized that they could have been caught. She ruffled his hair and he kissed her cheek before silently sneaking out. “All clear.” He led the way through the halls, probably having memorized the layout when they first arrived, and soon they were outside Evie’s door. “My queen…” he whispered teasingly, even giving Mal a little bow as he pushed open the door for her. 

The second she stepped foot into the room, she could feel the magical tension like a thousand rubber bands were pulling across the space and all of them would snap if she moved wrong. “Holy shit, E, you’re a mess.” 

The princess crossed her arms and glared like she was upset, but the fact that there was a smile tugging on her lips and her muscles relaxed the second they walked in the door told a completely different story. “You’re awful, you know that?” It was a big change to see her princess with long blue locks and perfect makeup to bare faced, no hair, and horns that wrapped over the top of her head. 

“I know, but you still look pretty so you’re not getting rid of me.” The compliment was what finally did it and Evie actually started to smile as they walked in the room, with Carlos guarding the door and Mal sitting cross-legged on the bed. “Do they know what’s keeping you in here, or are you still a complete mystery to man-kind?” Though Mal kept her voice light and teasing, there was the same question as she asked Carlos. 

Evie rolled her eyes. “The only reason I’m stuck in here is because my magic is still fluctuating. You were powerful enough to flash your eyes, but I never had any way of learning to control it. Everything else,” their secrets and her own, “is not an issue.” 

“Good,” Mal praised before reaching out her arms and relaxing into Evie’s body, pressing her nose into the other girl’s neck. “My princess, you scared the hell out of me. Don’t you ever pull something like that again, do you understand me?” Even though her words were muffled, Evie nodded her understanding. They pulled away just enough to press their foreheads together, but just as they touched someone entered the room. 

Carlos tripped them in what could have been an accident, giving Mal time to pull away and climb off the bed. The person was apparently a disgruntled nurse who glared at the two of them as soon as she realized who they were. “You two are supposed to be in your rooms! Out, the lot of you. There’s too much magic in the room and I refuse to deal with another explosion, out, out!” 

Aurora was just turning the corner when she saw them and what room they were coming out of, a mischievous smile on her face as she seemed to realize what they had done. “Shall we continue with our tour? I’m sorry I was pulled away, I should have given you better directions to Jay’s room.” Her eyes fell on the nurse behind them, and her smile turned strained. “Ah, Bethany! Are you good to watch over the princess while I show these two around? They’ve been healing well and I thought they deserved a chance to check on their friends.” 

“Of course,” the other nurse said through grinding teeth. Her eyes narrowed as she watched them move further down the hall, apparently not liking even the Queen for some odd reason. Mal took note of it, but left it alone for the time being until she had a chance to confront her. 

Ignoring the inquisitive look on Mal’s face, Aurora quietly asked permission to put a hand on each of their shoulders. Mal shrugged, she had never had a problem with people touching her, but she was surprised when Carlos nodded. He was always sensitive to touch and even struggled sometimes with her and the others, so the fact that he was okay with Aurora doing it showed a lot of respect. “Thank you, this should keep anyone from asking questions, if it appears more like I’m escorting you.” 

They didn’t have to wait long to find Jay’s room, but unexpectedly “soon-to-be-king” Ben was sitting outside the door. He stood slowly when he saw them, but his face lit up when he seemed to recognize who was helping them. “Aunt Aurora! I didn’t realize you had returned to the hospital officially, I thought you were just here to help out with the sudden need.” 

_Aunt?_ “I wasn’t planning on it, but when I heard what you were doing to help the children of the Isle, I came straight away. I’ll be returning to my royal duties once they’ve been cleared to start school,” Aurora informed him with a smile that said there was no room for argument. Seeing Ben blush down to his neck brightened Mal’s mood slightly. “Shall we check on our resident djinn?” 

Just as Ben opened his mouth, the door flew open as Mal shoved her away inside, only to stop short at the state of the room and one of her best friends. There were runes everywhere embedded with magic, more than likely invisible to the human eye, and like her spell book translated to something she understood in her head. The other part that caught her off guard was the female djinn who was talking to Jay like they were friends. “Who the fuck are you?” 

Jay raised an eyebrow at her to get her to settle her dragon, before sending a soft smile to Carlos who was hiding behind her. “Hey pup.” He turned his attention back to Mal once she got her breathing under control, and held out his hand. She rushed forward to check over his arms as he started talking, “this is Jordan, the Genie’s daughter. She’s been trying to help me get my powers to stop going haywire, and giving me a run down of what it's like to be a genie.” 

“You’re chained,” Mal growled as much as she tried not to. The gold was seared into his skin to the point that what was around it needed to be treated for secondary burns. She hated it almost as much as he probably did. 

Jay shrugged. “It’ll go away when I’m freed, but for the time being its keeping most of the more nasty parts of me from blowing up the hospital.” He moved over slightly so she could join him on the bed, making a show of asking her to so no one would realize Mal was really the one who needed the contact. He let her curl up into his side before continuing his conversation with Jordan as if nothing had happened. 

She heard Ben ask Carlos if the two of them were together, and his sneaky reply, “Not the two of them.”


	12. Out With The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben sits down with his parents to discuss what he has learned from his visits, trying to keep their private information safe while also getting his parents to realize how bad their situation was. He didn't expect it to go so wrong, but his father never could take responsibility for his mistakes.

When he went to his parents to discuss the state of the villian kids, he was not a prince. He went to them as a soon-to-be king, crown firmly placed on his head, and formal attire worn. They were meeting in his parents’ lounge in the palace, having some tea and biscuits to make the atmosphere seem a bit lighter even with the heavy topic. At least, his mom was trying to make it lighter. 

The three of them sat down around noon, the day after his last visit to the hospital left him with a thousand questions and an arsenal to throw at his father. Even with the short phone calls they’d had over the past five days, his father was still strongly against the villain kids being a part of Auradon Prep. Which was probably why he started with, “has there been any damage to the hospital?” 

His mother tried to shush him, but Ben latched onto the question. “No, actually. Queen Aurora has been assisting with their treatment and informed me during my last visit that the protections are holding quite nicely. And though there has been accidental magic pushing on it, none of the results would have been harmful.” He was careful with his words to make sure there was nothing for his father to latch onto. If Ben had made it seem like they had control over their powers, he would be suspicious and question how they learned so quickly. 

“I didn’t realize she was volunteering,” his mother said excitedly. “We should invite her over for dinner, she always works too hard when she’s here. And then she goes back to her kingdom and does it all over again for her own people!” 

“I’m sure she would love that.” Ben smiled at his mom and sipped his tea to hide the smugness that might be peeking through his mask. “You know she’s taken quite a liking to Mal and the others, and it seems it's returned. More than likely because the other nurses and doctors are either scared of them or disrespectful, whereas Aurora talks to them like people.” 

His father huffed lowly which got him a smack on the arm from his mother. “To be fair to them, it's very possible that they or their families were personally affected during the war. Seeing a reminder of all of that pain could cause them to lash out, however out of character it might be.” 

A growl rose in his chest, but Ben shut it down before it could escape. He wasn’t sure why he was so protective of the villain kids, but it didn’t help that his father’s bias gave him a lot to protect them from. “As I informed you with my first call, things didn't go as planned and I had to meet the VK’s at a discrete location because they were injured _ ,”  _ he reminded them while his mom looked sympathetic and his father remained stoic _.  _ “The first room I was shown to was Carlos De Vil’s, where nurses were still trying to correct the damage done to him. There were years of scars all over his arms and legs, not to mention the brand, carved by his mother as a punishment, on his back.” 

His mom paled and sat back in her chair with a hand over her mouth, looking like she might throw up. His father, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected by that knowledge. “It’s possible that the brand was put there by request of Carlos himself, we can’t make assumptions when it comes to what we don’t know.” __

“Then why did he ask the nurses if they could remove it, once he saw them heal some of the more recent ones? Do you think he put cigarettes out on his arms too?” Ben pinched the bridge of his nose to try to alleviate the headache he seemed to always have around his parents. “None of the others wanted their scars removed, and that was the only one that Carlos wanted gone. Their scars are proof of their survival, but he wanted nothing to remind him of his mother. He told me that  _ himself _ .” 

“I’m glad that they’re communicating with you, that’s a good sign,” his mom butted in before a fight could start, reaching to grab another biscuit while she gave Ben a warning look through her lashes. “You mentioned that he was the only one without magic, how are the others doing?” 

“Mal has almost completely healed and is learning quickly how to control her magic, since Aurora has experience with her mother’s and has a better idea of how to help her compared to the others. Jay is working with Jordan, Genie’s daughter?” His father raised an eyebrow at that but kept his mouth shut. “There’s a lot of complexities to their magic, but it seems to be going well. Princess Evie is struggling with preventing accidental magic, but knows how to channel it when she wants to.” He grinned at the memory from yesterday when they announced that the area around her horns had healed and she breathed a sigh of relief, her hair suddenly back to its original length. 

With something to grab on to, his father added in his bit. “Her mother no longer has any royal standing as Snow White has taken over the kingdom, so her daughter doesn’t either. As much as you want this to work, you can’t be showing favoritism to earn their favor.” 

“I’m not, because she does have royal standing both through her mother  _ and _ her father.” Ben sipped his tea again while his father reeled. “Grimilhide was the heir to her family’s kingdom before she was ever married and to this day remains queen even from the isle, which makes Evie the princess. Her father also is the ruler of his own kingdom, even though banished to the isle, which makes her princesses of his kingdom as well.” 

“And what kingdom is that, exactly?” his father questioned with a snarl, clearly making his distaste for this new knowledge known. “Would it happen to be the reason why the princess grew  _ horns _ upon her arrival?” 

Even his mother looked upset at his outburst. “I certainly wasn’t made aware of this so therefore it must not have been in the report, the one that Ben brought us?” She turned in her seat with her hands clasped in her lap and a stern expression on her face. “Adam, how do you know something about the princess that even  _ I _ wasn’t privy to?” 

* * *

The resulting fight between his parents lasted for over an hour and only stopped when Ben pulled his mother to the library. She was not an angry person, but she was the more stubborn out of the two and wouldn’t let an argument go until there was a resolution or his father went into a rage. If the second was true, as it was this time, he would go into one of the innermost parts of the palace and destroy everything in sight. The staff were informed that they had the next few days off, with only a select few allowed to stay. 

Mrs. Potts, as retired as she was from cooking and working in the kitchen, was still living with them and always informed them, “I dealt with that boy for years when he was a beast, and now that he is a man he is just easier to whip into shape.” Lumiere and Cogsworth were in similar positions, which was why they were seated by the entrance of the library trying to look like they weren’t guarding the door. 

“I need you to be completely honest with me, Ben,” his mom said as she grasped his hands in hers and she tried to look as strong as he knew her to be. But with tears still streaming down her cheeks, both of them knew all he wanted to do was hug her and make her feel safe again. “I need you to tell me everything you learned about those kids because I’m tired of letting your father tell me everything's okay. I’m tired of being the peasant girl instead of a queen.” 

All of it came rushing out of him at once. “Mom, I threw up after meeting them for the first time because I was so horrified at the condition they were in. Carlos is  _ covered _ in scars all over his body and he said that most of them were from his mother since he was able to defend himself from everyone else.”

She let go of his hands to dab at her eyes and wave Mrs. Potts over so they could both have some water. “I expected as much, but it still hurts me to think that they allowed her to be there. Anita fought for her to be hospitalized with her medication until they could have a proper trial.” 

That was new. “I thought that besides Aunt Ella, Snow, and Aurora, no one else was against their villains being sent to the isle. I know Princess Rapunzel wanted the children brought over, but I didn’t realize there was so much controversy.” 

“Your father thought it best to hide a lot from you,” she huffed, but her eyes shifted to her lap in guilt. As much as Ben thought his mother hung the moon, he wasn’t blind to the fact that she could also make mistakes. “You’re right though, your aunts were against it from the beginning. But there were others, like Aladdin who fought your father on some of the less dangerous criminals like his own father. Ariel fought tooth and nail to get Ursula and Morgana’s children off and was the first to bring to attention that there were children being born. Luckily,” his mother sighed, “we took care of that mistake. Even if there were villain kids already born, no more would come to be.” 

Ben flinched. “That’s one of the things I wanted to talk to you about, mom. Because you only took into consideration that the adults would be having children.” The tray Mrs. Potts was holding shattered on the floor and there were swears coming from the doorway. “Mal was forced into prostitution by her mother,” he said with an as even tone as he could keep, closing his eyes as he remembered her face when she spat at him for apologizing about the comments being made towards her. She was proud of her scars and had given him the whole story just to watch him turn green. “She said she was one of the lucky ones. The one consultation was that once her gang came into power, there were no more pregnancies with a mother under the age of sixteen.” 

It took what felt like ages for the rest of them to recover, Lumiere helping Mrs. Potts clean up the clay shards from the priceless dishes while the two of them cried quietly. Cogsworth wasn’t doing much better as he blubbered in his chair. 

When they pulled themselves together enough to continue, Ben cleared his throat. “The less horrifying, though no less saddening, parts that were revealed in my conversations with them were small facts. All of their clothes are leather because it is the most durable material they have, all the cloth goes to sheets and bedding so they won’t freeze in the night. Even with the minimal effort clinics that have been supposedly sent to the isle, none of them knew what a hospital was or what a vaccine did.” 

“Did they allow any of the medical staff to explain or give them any?” His mother was one of the strongest advocates for vaccines, as her own mother was killed by the common cold due to a weakening immune system. She relaxed slightly when he nodded. 

“Aurora is probably the only reason they allow the staff to do anything. She explains what she’s doing, what it does, and how it affects them. Part of her problem is that all four are deeply malnourished, dehydrated, and scared, yet they keep saying they were better off than most.”

There was a huff from the doorway and Ben moved so he was in front of his mother, a low growl emitting from his chest as he locked eyes with his father. “Ben, you can’t take everything they say at face value.” 


	13. Surprising Animals and Extra Color

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long hard week for the lot of the, the VK's are officially out of the hospital and ready to settle in to their new "home".

After a full week in the hospital, Ben finally relaxed when he heard that they had recovered enough to join Auradon prep. He had purposefully invited them to start when the other students were on break, but because of their medical needs that was over. Luckily, they’d all be starting at the same time instead of just walking into the middle of things. 

He had asked Fairy Godmother to lead an assembly for the other students to remind them of the decree, give them a little background on the villain kids, and make sure they understood what was expected of their own behavior. It also made it so that when they pulled up in the limo, the grounds were deserted and he was able to talk to them alone. “Welcome to Auradon prep!” 

The clothes they wore were a stark contrast from the medical gowns he’d seen them in at the hospital, dark colors and spikes. It suited them though. Mal was the first to speak, looking around with what could have been disinterest if she wasn’t so tense. “Where’s the rest of the school? I assumed that what with the whole, giving us a chance thing, we’d actually be with other students.” 

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “You will be, I just thought it would be easier for you to adjust if you weren’t being stared at by the entire student body when you showed up, especially after my screw up with your arrival in the first place.” Ben shook his head before turning to Evie with a smile, bowing just as she curtsied. “Princess Evie, it is lovely to see you again and I’m glad to see that you were able to return your hair to your liking. You look as beautiful as ever, though I must say that dress looks much better on you.” 

Evie beamed at him as she smoothed out non-existent wrinkles from her skirt. “Thank you, I made it myself.” The dress was the same color as her hair with a sheer overlay that created a chrome look he’d seen on cars before, but as always, it looked better on her. 

“Maybe you could make an outfit for me sometime, they always have me in some kind of suit and it would be nice to wear something a little more me.” Ben realized suddenly that he was ignoring the other three and he could feel his ears turning red. He ignored his embarrassment and turned to start giving the tour, pointing out the grounds where they could hang out during free time and have lunch if they wanted to, carefully avoiding the statue of his father as anger boiled inside him from the memory of the last few days. Instead of going straight inside, he moved them to the tourney field. “This is where we play tourney. It's a lot of fun and lets us be rougher than we’re expected to be. The goal is to move across the field and help your teammates get a ball into that net, which an opposing player is guarding. There’s a kill zone in the middle, which isn’t actually deadly it just hurts if you get hit. There’s someone shooting wooden spokes at you the second you enter it which is where a lot of players get tripped up.” 

“That actually sounds like fun,” Mal said. “Can anyone join or do you have to be a royal to participate?” If she was intimidating before, the spiked headband and torn purple jeans made Ben want to surrender. 

He pushed down the tightness in his throat and hoped his voice would remain normal. “You don’t have to be a royal, though the rules are a bit outdated and say that only guys can play. But…” He frowned as he tried to remember something he’d read recently. “I’ve heard of other schools ignoring it and girl’s joining, but even if the school board won’t let them, I think the person who runs the cannon doesn’t have the same restrictions.” 

“Dude, you just gave Mal the chance to shoot spikes at you. Do you really think that’s a great idea?” Both boys were shaking their heads, but at least they were smiling. Jay wrapped an arm around his shoulders and again, Ben had to stop himself from blushing. “I’ll join the team and protect you, don’t worry. You’re our ticket to staying, can’t have you getting impaled by a lucky shot.” 

Mal stuck her tongue out in annoyance and they all laughed. The atmosphere quickly changed though when a bark could be heard in the distance as Dude noticed them. All of them were on the bleachers in seconds, with Carlos in the center of a protective circle. “Why the fuck do you have one of those on campus?” 

He bent down to pick up the small mutt with a confused look on his face, but he took a few steps back to try and make them feel more comfortable. “Because he’s fun to play with and helps some of the students with anxiety?” When none of them moved, Ben sighed. “I don’t know what you’ve heard about dogs, but they make really good companions and are almost never aggressive. Unless they’ve been trained as an attack dog, feel threatened, or were abused, you have nothing to fear from them. And here in Auradon, abuse and attack animals are both against the law so you don’t have to worry about it.” 

Surprisingly, Evie was the first to move. She hesitantly held out her hand like Ben told her and allowed Dude to smell her, before squeaking in surprise when he licked her. “He’s so warm…” she whispered as she ran her fingers through his fur. 

Jay was next, with Mal following closely behind. Carlos didn’t go near Dude, but at least he had stopped shaking. “I’m still a cat person, that thing has nothing on Bea.” When Ben raised an eyebrow, he twitched. “I have a cat back home.” 

“I wish I knew, the campus is pet friendly and we could totally get you permission to bring Bea. It might take a while to convince them to go back, but…” When Ben saw Mal and Evie’s faces, suspicion crept into the corners of his mind. “Or if you somehow just happened to realize you brought a stowaway and somehow kept that from the entire medical staff, I could overlook that until we got the proper paperwork in order.” He put Dude down when he started struggling and watched as the dog scampered off to do something else. “Did you?”

Evie looked at Mal for permission before pulling a small black fuzzball out of her bag. “Ben, meet Beelzebub. Beelzebub, meet Prince Ben.” Big green eyes opened up and glared at him. 

* * *

Ben had quickly ushered them into the dorm building when it finally hit him that the four of them had snuck a cat into Auradon without anyone noticing. “I’m impressed, but if you get caught there’s nothing I can do. Just give me time to get the paperwork ready, okay?” He’d made Carlos promise and was surprised they’d listened so quickly. When they made it to the boy’s floor, they came to another problem. 

“Not happening, you can’t separate us.” Mal growled lowly as she glared at him, shrinking the little confidence he had that they were making progress towards becoming friends. “We stay together or you should send us back right now for your own safety.” 

“I’m going to ignore that threat that you just made because I know you are smarter than that,” he ground out. Ben had had enough of that behavior from his father and as much as he was trying to help them, Mal still thought she had to make threats to get what she wanted. She looked taken aback when he snapped at her, but she kept her mouth shut. “For right now, you can move into whichever room you like better, but I can’t guarantee I can write you an accommodation. I am doing this not because you’re trying to make me, but because I saw how hard it was for the four of you to be seperated in the hospital and want to try and make this transition easier for you.” He softened slightly and all of his previous anger slipped away. “I want to help you, but you have to understand two things. One, you have to ask me  _ nicely _ . Two, I can’t do everything. I might be becoming king of Auradon City, but my parents still rule over school property. They didn’t want me outlawing homework,” he joked. 

At least that got a quiet chuckle out of the group, but some of the previous tension was still there. “Fine,” Mal conceded. It was minor, but it was progress. She even allowed him to help them move the girl’s bags from the pink room they clearly hated to the boys, though she gave him a look before he could comment on how little they had brought with them. Clearly they either thought they weren’t staying long or...that was all they had. 

“I’ll talk to someone about bunking the beds or something to give you all a place to sleep, but for tonight I can’t do anything.” He felt bad that they had to share, but the four of them didn’t seem to mind. “Classes start tomorrow for everyone, we just got back from a week break since we have one every five weeks. You’ve only missed the first month, so you’re not too far behind, and you have a study block with me and some of the teachers to catch you up if there’s anything you’re struggling with. I made sure that none of you are ever alone in classes, but with class sizes I was only able to get you into pairs.” 

Evie smiled brightly. “We appreciate your hospitality and your accommodations for us, Prince Ben. Is there anything else that you believe we should know?” Suddenly he realized how tired they looked and guilt hit him like a tourney spike. 

“No,” he assured them. “You have the rest of the day to relax since it's Sunday. You can explore if you want to, but I’ll be your guide tomorrow to make sure you know your way around the rest of the school. Besides helping you out, it also gives me an excuse to be late to all my classes.” Ben winked, beaming when he again got them to laugh. He exited their room quietly and made his way to Fairy Godmother’s office, as much as he wished to be in his own bed. 


	14. Setttling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Ben gone, the four of them were finally able to relax...be themselves. Mal is their leader and she knows what each of them needs, but she isn't blind to the fact that this can't last forever.

The second Ben left them alone, all of the tension left the room as they each fell onto whatever was closest. Jay and Carlos curled up on one of the beds together, finally able to show the affection they had to hide everywhere else. Evie found a chair and pulled her feet up, yawning into her hands as she allowed herself to let go of the expectations she placed on herself. 

Mal, on the other hand, had a different idea. She immediately gravitated over to Evie and kneeled in front of her, grasping her hands tightly as they looked at each other. “Your horns almost match your hair, they’re gorgeous. And this darker color in your hair looks more natural than what Dizzy could do with stuff on the Isle, it fits you.” 

“Dizzy would kill you for saying that, though I think you’re right,” Evie responded in a monotone, but her voice cracked on the last word and she burst into tears. Mal knew her well enough to have immediately recognized how scared she was about her new appearance, the one thing her mother bullied her about more than anything. As much as her mother loved her, princesses had standards to live up to and since Grimilhide always believed Evie would escape someday, she trained her to be perfect. That just had the side effect of making Evie completely terrified of any imperfection. 

There were whispers of compliments coming from the pile on the far bed, but Mal knew it wasn;t enough. “Princess, can I see you?” When she finally looked up, Mal wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her shirt and brushed stray strands of hair behind her ears. “E, you are the most beautiful person I have ever met. Your presence alone made the Isle livable for me, maybe even worth it, because not only do you radiate sunshine, you almost single handedly made it possible for me to unite the gangs. Jay helped, but he was more the muscle.” 

She finally started giggling when said muscle huffed in protest. “You spoil me, you know that?” Evie dabbed at her face with a cloth that came out of nowhere, somehow “fixing” her face in a matter of seconds. 

Mal didn’t even bother responding to her with words. Her hands moved to cup the princess’s cheeks and pull her forward so their lips could meet. It had been so long since she’d been able to claim them in this way and she could feel everything settle between them. Their magic, their souls…“You are mine,” she whispered as she pulled away. “Now go put your things away, get into more comfortable clothes and wait for me to come back.” 

While Evie started on her task list, the boys sat up sleepily to meet her. She gave Carlos a light kiss and directed him to follow Evie in getting ready for bed, before turning her attention to Jay. He didn’t need the same reassurance that the other two did, he just needed something to ground him. She could see the magic around him turning his body into smoke and back, he was barely holding himself together. He opened his arms for her and she let herself be pulled into straddling his lap. “I need you. Can I take what I need from you?” 

He always asked permission and she always gave it to him, even if she gave him boundaries to stay in. “Just feel and kiss me, okay? There’s been a lot going on.” Mal followed him when he laid back into the pillows and didn’t fight him when he flipped them over, relaxing into the mattress as he worked on her neck. He always left bruises first to allow himself some possession over her, before finally giving up control. 

The longer they laid there together, the more solid he felt beneath her fingers as she dug her nails into his sides and back. “Fuck Mal, I guess you needed this too…” he teased. He wasn’t wrong, she only really felt herself when she could claim what was hers. They made her who she was, there was no doubt in her mind she would have broken long ago if it wasn’t for them. 

“I just needed you, all of you. I don’t want to sleep apart tonight, or ever again, but I know that they won’t let us be together in this room...or outside of it. So I’m going to take every chance I have with you, okay?” She always asked permission to, because none of them had ever had the chance to give it to anyone else. 

Jay kissed her nose lightly before climbing off to put his stuff away while the other two got to work on making a pile of blankets on the floor. The room ended up feeling similar to their apartment on the isle, with Evie and Carlos sharing one of the closets so they could organize all of their clothing and materials in one spot, while Mal and Jay just threw all of their stuff together in what appeared to be a complete mess. It was actually strategic, as all of the most important stuff they owned was hidden throughout the room with their clothes in piles of occasion. Their heaviest leather and jeans in the front in case they needed armor, their most Auradon appropriate styles behind that with everything else following.

Finally, in the center of the floor, they’d pulled the mattresses off the beds and found all of the blankets in the room to lay on top of them. Even though they could make the room warm, they weren’t used to the heat and knew they would never be able to sleep if they used it. Carlos figured out how to turn it off so they would be able to pile together under all of the blankets without sweating. 

When they were settled, Mal got down to business. “Okay, this is what we know based off of what we learned from Yen Sid and our own experience here.” All eyes turned to her, even though they were laying down on the floor and it was kind of hard. “Ben will be King of Auradon City and the Isle in two weeks time, and he honestly wants to help us. He seemed surprised by a lot of the stuff that we talked about and what came up on the medical side of things, even though it was normal things, so he must not have known and now that he does, he might change things when he is king.” __

“And he felt awful about what happened to you three when we crossed the border and paid for all of our care to take care of the debt. He’s not stupid even if he’s uninformed, so the more he knows the more useful he is. Maybe...maybe we can trust him.” 

Mal flinched. “If he continues to prove himself. I just,” she hesitated to dampen his excitement. “I don’t know if he’ll ever be able to understand.” And if he did, she dreaded to think what life in Auradon was really like behind all of the smiles and sunshine. 


	15. First Days and New Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben knew he wasn't the only one nervous for the first day of classes to start, but the VK's seemed to be dealing with it better than he was. He'd been trying his hardest to make life easier for them, but there was a lot of unexpected stuff going on and he wasn't sure he was doing this right.

Ben made sure that he was outside the boy’s room at 8am exactly so they would have plenty of time to get ready before Fairy Godmother made the rounds. Their conversation the night before had not gone as planned. 

“Ben, as much as I appreciate you trying to help them feel more comfortable in their new environment, it's extremely inappropriate to allow them to sleep in the same room together. They’re teenagers and not only that, they’re…” Fairy Godmother had taken a deep breath before she could say anything worse. “If we coddle them too much, they could fail here. Don’t you see that separation for them could be a good thing? They need to make new friends, branch out. And if they have each other every second of the day, that might not happen…” 

He’d sat there stunned as he watched one of the adults he looked up to the most try to manipulate him. “I’m not coddling them. They’ve just spent a full week in emergency medical care because of extreme magical and physical trauma, unable to see each other most of the time to know that the others were okay, and now you want me to seperate them?” He felt his chest tighten at the memory of the fear in their eyes. “I know this can’t be permanent and I agree that some separation is good, but for right now this is something that requires some exception.” 

“You're not the one who makes the rules here, Prince Ben, and even if you were, I would advise you to think about this more than the few minutes you’ve given to it.” She sighed when she saw that he wasn’t going to back down, trying to placate him by saying, “this is a time for you to learn, I just don’t want your first few decisions to end in disaster. I’d advise you to inform them of my decision before morning rounds.” Fairy Godmother had gone back to her paperwork in a clear dismissal.

He knew he had a temper, but his anger wasn’t what made him decide to ignore the rules. The fact that he felt in his soul that he needed to do this right, that was what prevented him from doing what she asked the way she wanted him to. To be fair, since morning rounds were at 8:20am, he technically wasn’t breaking the rules if he told them at 8am. 

Evie was the one who opened the door and he felt his jaw drop when he saw her, blushing straight down to his neck when he realized what happened. “Like what you see?” she teased, but she was also blushing. 

“You just look so different from yesterday, did you put a glamor on your horns?” Ben asked in confusion as he looked at her, before he finally realized what she’d done. Her hair was curled and braided to hide her horns, with a tiara as the centerpiece of it all, and it looked like it had taken her hours. “Wow, did you do this yourself?” She beamed at him and nodded, before realizing she had left the door open and hurried to shut it. Before she did, he caught sight of the other three curled up together on the floor. “I did that with my friends when we first came here, though Jane was the only girl.” 

She nodded her understanding as her shoulders relaxed, most likely worried that he was going to judge them. “Why are you here so early? I thought classes didn’t start until nine on Mondays, at least that’s what you said on your tour.” 

Ben flinched as he explained the situation, but she only made a comment about that being the isle thing to do. “Or, you know, a normal teenager thing.” He shrugged it off but felt good that it seemed at least one of them was starting to be friends with him. “Anyway, you and Mal will still be roommates, but you can’t sleep with the boys anymore. At least, not regularly.” 

“Not unexpected, but I appreciate you trying,” Mal’s voice piped in as she opened the door, clearly ready for the day. Where Evie had hidden her horns, it was clear that she was proud to show them off, and it looked like she’d even polished them. “Why are you here so early?” 

“I wanted to walk you to the cafeteria for breakfast!” He smiled at her while she only raised an eyebrow in return. “It’ll be your first interaction with the rest of the students, I thought you’d like someone to ask questions and shoo away anyone who makes you uncomfortable. If you want to eat by yourselves, I totally understand!” He rushed to assure them they had a choice, just in time for the boys to join them in the hallway. 

Jay shrugged. “You’ve been cool so far and you can make sure Jordan doesn’t sit with us,” he joked, all of them knowing full well he’d taken a liking to the other dijn. “We all set to go? If the food is free, I’d like to get to it sooner than later.” 

He didn’t understand why it being free would mean they’d need to rush, but Ben led them quietly down to the cafeteria and held open the door for them. “It’s buffet style, so take whatever looks good and then we can sit down.” Ben started on his own tray before turning to look at the others. They were staring at him which made his cheeks flush, but he pushed through it. “Remember the doctors said not to over indulge or you’ll throw up, so I’d suggest only taking one plate.” Finally they started following him along the line, asking questions about what certain foods were and if he was _sure_ that it was okay for them to take all this food. “The kitchen can always make more,” he assured them while a pit started to form in his stomach as he realized why they were so malnourished. He’d always known that they didn’t get the best food, but he’d always assumed they got enough. _When am I going to stop being so naive?_

The VK’s chose a table that was along the wall where the door was and sat down when Ben did, watching to see when he’d start eating. Once they’d settled in and were picking at their plates, Mal got down to business. “So yesterday you made sure we were in classes together. What’s our schedules?” 

As if by magic, Jordan walked over and handed Ben their new bags before stealing a bite off Jay’s plate. “Thanks,” he said as he rolled his eyes. “Each of these is for one of you; it’s got all of the books you need, writing tools, your schedules, and locker codes.” There was a purple one for Mal that she seemed to be okay with, a red bag for Evie, and two black ones for the boys. “You’re all in Algebra 1 and…” He made a face as he told them, “Remedial Goodness 101,” but they didn’t seem surprised. “Evie and Carlos are both in chemistry, with Jay and Mal in Geology for your science credit. Carlos and Jay are in Financing, while Mal and Evie are in sewing and fashion, and then Mal and Carlos are in storytelling, while Evie and Jay are in poetry for writing.” 

Jordan butted in before he could finish. “You’re all only in five classes and you can take up to eight, which means you might get to graduate early or not be completely bored o death. Next semester you can pick some extra classes that might fit you better like an art, physical ed, music, something like that.” 

“I know how to play piano,” Carlos whispered and everyone at the table turned to stare at him including the other VK’s. “What? Cruella hates the song Roger made about her, so Noemí taught me how to play.”

Ben latched onto the new fact and smiled encouragingly. “You’re welcome to use the piano in the music room any time, besides around lunch there’s no one in there outside of classes.” Carlos just nodded, but there was a small smile on his face. “We only have about fifteen minutes before classes start. I have math next door to your chemistry class, so I can walk you two, if that’s okay?” 

Evie and Carlos looked at the other two quickly before nodding in agreement. “We have Goodness after that, right?” Evie asked as she looked at her schedule, her eyebrows scrunching slightly as she concentrated and suddenly Ben had the strongest urge to reach out to smooth it. 

Jay did it for him and he only got shoved for his efforts. He stuck his tongue out before taking all of their plates and putting them away where other students were, ignoring the looks he was getting. He snagged his bag when he came back, ruffling Mal’s hair between her horns. “Let’s go, Mal, don’t want to be late on our first day!” He laughed when she glared at him, grabbing her bag too. “You three have fun in class, Jordan’s got Geology with us so she’ll make sure we don’t break anything.” 

“I don’t think that’s possible,” Evie called after them with a smile on her face. She went to grab her bag but Ben already had it in his hands. She rolled her eyes at him but let him carry it for her, strutting down the hallway as if it was her castle. She curtsied when they passed teachers and waved at everyone they passed like she was friends with everyone already. _She’s amazing_. 

When they reached the right classroom, Carlos grabbed her backpack and held open the door for her. He saluted Ben as he walked backwards into the room, disappearing to the back of the class while Evie sat in the middle. Ben knew that he was already going to be distracted thinking about the new kids, but he didn’t realize until that moment exactly why. Each one of them already had him whipped.


End file.
